To Be Human
by DragonShadow
Summary: Jenny Robot wants to be human... to feel. But life is never easy, and the adventures that stem from these desires can be as disasterous as they are rewarding.
1. The Power of Passion Edited

The Power of Passion  
  
Tremorton High School was as quiet as ever on this bright, but uncomfortably cold winter morning. Students hustled back and forth between classes, each wearing jackets to protect them from the chill wind that swept through the hallways. One student, however, needed no jacket.  
  
Jenny walked with her friend Brad, chatting companionably and holding her school books in the crook of one metallic arm. "I don't know why you're so worked up Brad, if you studied then you're ready for the test. All the answers are right in the books."  
  
"Yeah, but unlike you, I don't have a photographic memory." Brad replied. "Human brains are more like sponges. You pour a bunch of water on it and hope enough water gets caught to do what you need to do with it." Brad took a moment to wave to another student as she passed them in the hall. He stopped when he saw a small group gathered near one of the lockers. "Looks like the rumor mill has another victim."  
  
"Rumor mill? Victim?" Jenny stopped and stared at Brad, scratching her head. "What's a rumor mill and what does it do to people?"  
  
"They spread slanderous stories about people to make others not like them as much." Brad gave Jenny a sly look. "I'm going to see who's getting it this week. If I don't come out in ten minutes, presume me laughing too hard to move." Brad moved into the crowd and pushed his way inside, vanishing from sight. Jenny stood outside the circle of students, trying to catch a glimpse of Brad.  
  
"Brad? Are you okay?" She crossed her arms, waiting for her friend to emerge from the constantly murmuring pile of students. She was able to catch snatches of conversations, a word here and there, but there were far too many to make any of them out clearly. "Brad?" She blinked in surprise when the group suddenly dispersed. "Huh?"  
  
"Don't take up the entire hallway, android." Jenny whirled to see Brittany and Tiffany Krust standing behind her, staring at her balefully. "There are REAL people who have to use it." Brittany smirked and put her hands on her hips. Jenny narrowed her eyes, but moved out of the way to let them move past her, eyeing the students in the hallway but not saying anything else until they were gone.  
  
Jenny blinked in confusion as Brad walked up to her with a solemn look on his face. "What's going on Brad? Was the rumor as funny as you hoped?"  
  
Brad shook his head and stuffed his hands on his pockets. "Not really. Supposedly, Brit is pregnant." Brad told her as they resumed their trek through the hallways. Jenny looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Pregnant? Who's her mate?" Jenny asked. Brad gave her a curious glance. "The shows on the discovery show said a female needs a mate to get pregnant."  
  
"Well yeah, they do. And nobody knows who it is." Brad replied. "And please say 'boyfriend' instead of 'mate'."  
  
"Boyfriends make girls pregnant?" Jenny blinked in confusion. Brad looked over at her incredulously.  
  
"You don't know how babies are made?" He exclaimed. Jenny blushed a soft blue color, shaking her head. She got the feeling she should have known, but honestly had never thought about it. Brad rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Jenny... you know I'm your friend and I've never refused to tell you anything you wanted to know... but ask your mom that one." He rushed ahead of her toward their classroom. Jenny scratched her head and followed, wondering why he refused to talk about it...  
  
The class went as normal, until it let out and Jenny set off down the hall alone toward her next class. She wasn't in the mood to walk with Brad at the moment... she needed to find out what it was that Brad refused to tell her. And she knew one person who would be smart enough to tell her what was going on...  
  
She found Sheldon in the metal shop, shaping a small piece of steel into what looked like a small ring. "Sheldon, can I ask you something?" Jenny asked. Sheldon looked up in surprise, then closed his hand around the steel object. A small 'meep' sound escaped his throat as a plume of smoke rose from his hand, but he shoved it into his jacket pocket and planted a smile on his face.  
  
"Y... yes... anything you need Jenny." Sheldon spoke through clenched teeth and pulled his hand out of his pocket. There was a large red welt in the middle of his palm where the steel had seared into his flesh. Still he had a grin plastered on his freckled, somewhat homely face.  
  
"Are you okay?" Jenny quirked one eyebrow.  
  
"I'm fi... FIRE!" Sheldon leapt up when the pocket containing the metal burst into flames. He whipped his jacket off and threw it to the ground. Jenny grabbed a nearby glass and threw it on the blaze, putting it out in a puff of smoke before it could spread any further. "Whew... thanks Jenny. Now, tell me what you need." Sheldon sat down on a nearby stool.  
  
"Uh... no problem..." Jenny shook her head and sat on the stool beside his, holding her hands in her lap. "Well, you're a smart person Sheldon, how do humans have babies?" Sheldon gave her a curious look. "I know human girls carry the babies, but how do the eggs get fertilized without leaving the body? And what do boyfriends have to do with it?"  
  
Sheldon's face turned bright red and he gulped, looking down at the floor. "Well... h... human procreation... is a simple matter really..." He gulped and looked at her. "How much do you know of human anatomy Jenny?"  
  
"I know the functions of every part of the human body... I think." Jenny scratched her head. "I think there are a few blank spots now that I think about it. There's nothing in my database concerning reproduction."  
  
"I guess your mom was as nervous about it as I am..." Sheldon coughed and settled down more firmly on his stool. "Well, as is often the case, the girls have the eggs and the boys have the... er... 'fertilizer'..." His face was bright red. "The boy... injects the fertilizer into the girl's womb... where it fertilizes the egg. The baby is incubated inside the mother to emerge later."  
  
"Injects with what? Where is the womb?" Jenny asked.  
  
"Injects... with..." Sheldon looked like he would rather be anywhere else at that point, staring at the ground and tapping his hands against his knees nervously. "Injects with the... the... penis... into the girl's vagina... th... the womb is inside the vagina..."  
  
"Ooohhh..." Jenny blinked and stared at him. "That sounds like it should hurt a human girl, being injected into and all."  
  
"I wouldn't know..." Sheldon blushed again, even brighter if it were possible. "But they say it only hurts the first time..."  
  
"So Brit had a boy inject her with fertilizer... because she wanted a child. I think I understand, if she wanted a child she can't be as bad as I thought she was." Jenny stood up, having confirmed what she wanted to know. Sheldon looked up in surprise as she headed for the door. "Maybe I can help her raise the child as friends instead of enemies. It could be fun."  
  
"Hey wait Jenny, it doesn't necessarily mean..." Sheldon's voice faded behind her as she rushed down the hall, anxious to look for her. She'd never held a real baby before... well not when she wasn't surrounded by laser fire or carnage anyway. She was anxious to see what it was like.  
  
She found Brittany and Tiffany heading down the hall toward their next class, together as they always were. They stopped when they noticed Jenny approaching. "Oh, it's you again. What do you want?" Brittany asked.  
  
"Brit, I want to be friends with you." Jenny exclaimed. The Krust cousins exchanged a strange glance before turning back to her. "I know you don't like me for... whatever reason... but if you want to have a child then I want to help. I'm all about helping people. It'll be fun!"  
  
"Want to have a child? At my age?" Brittany asked incredulously.  
  
"Of course... why else would you have a boy inject you?" Jenny asked, a bit embarrassed, as if there was something she should have known already but didn't. Tiffany narrowed her eyes dangerously while Brittany stepped forward, flicking Jenny in the nose with one finger. It didn't hurt, but a metallic clang rang through the mostly empty hallway.  
  
"The world must be so simple to a THING who sees nothing but zeros and ones." Brittany had a smug smirk on her face as she stared down the tall, metallic robot. "The world isn't so simple for PEOPLE. Machines can't solve... or even comprehend... some problems." She turned away from Jenny abruptly and walked off. Tiffany shook her head and turned away from Jenny to follow her cousin.  
  
The robot stared after them, putting one hand over her mouth. "What don't I get...?" She asked herself softly. She looked up in surprise as the bell rang to signify the beginning of the last class period. "Oh no, I'm late!" She took off down the hall to find the appropriate classroom.  
  
Hours later, Jenny left the school with a sigh and a slight slump in her shoulders. She turned her head to see Brittany and Tiffany heading off toward their own home, leaving the school behind. It seemed like Brittany didn't have the usual arrogant gait in her step that she normally did. Instead it was like a heavy weight was holding her down. The light stoop of her shoulders, the barely noticeable dragging of her feet, her head bobbing up and down in an almost imperceptible manner. Jenny's robotic eyes and attention to detail captured it all.  
  
"Still thinking about that pregnancy thing?" Brad asked as he walked up behind her, his gaze following hers. "If I were you I'd just forget about it. They've never done a thing for you but try to bring you down." Brad turned to walk toward their homes, and Jenny turned to follow behind him, clasping her hands behind her back.  
  
"Maybe... but Brad, I have another question. If someone doesn't want to have a child, why would they have a boy fertilize their egg?" Brad blinked and gave her a blank, yet slightly amused look. "Sheldon explained it to me..." Jenny blushed.  
  
"Figures." Brad rolled his eyes and shrugged, jamming his hands into his pockets. "Sometimes people do things that seem like a good idea at the time without thinking of the consequences. You know, because they feel good..." Brad trailed off suddenly and looked at her. Jenny was staring up at the sky, her eyes half closed. There was that damned word again... 'feel'. However often she tried to feel anything, it always ended in disaster. "Sorry." Brad told her.  
  
"Hey, I asked." Jenny flashed her friend a quick smile. They walked on in companionable silence until Jenny's chest-plate opened up suddenly, and a three-dimensional image generator extended before her. Her creator and mother was all business as she spoke in her usual accent.  
  
"XJ-9, you're needed down at the library. A group of Harry Potter protestors have gotten out of control, and the police are swamped." Mrs. Wakeman told her urgently.  
  
"I'll be right there." Jenny's image generator slid back into her chest before her chest-plate closed again. "I'll see you later Brad."  
  
"Later." Brad waved her off as her pigtails swiveled around and a pair of flames shot out of them. She roared through the sky, scanning the ground below her for any signs of the reported disturbance. She spotted the library in the distance, and sure enough a group of protestors in thick jackets were milling about frantically like a pile of ants attacking their own anthill. The sky was muted thanks to the clouds overhead, giving the entire scene a blueish hue that made it look more like paintings she'd seen than a real life occurrence. The police desperately trying to keep order, however, reminded her that it was very real.  
  
Jenny landed lightly nearby, the jet engines retracting once again into her pigtails. The writhing crowd in front of her was compounded by cries and screams to be heard. Jenny lifted her right arm, which split in half to let a small bullhorn rise to her lips. Several more sprouted in front of that one, forming a solid line. "KNOCK IT OFF!" Her voice echoed through the streets, drowning out the sounds of the crowd.  
  
Everyone fell silent and turned toward her as the line of horns withdrew back into her arm. "What is all of this about? It's just a book, it's not like it's hurting anyone."  
  
One of the women in the crowd smirked and huffed. "Like you would know what it's like to watch our children be exposed to such things. What it feels like to know that their minds are being corrupted no matter what we do!" Several others cheered in agreement, to be joined moments later by the rest of the crowd.  
  
"Maybe, but I know that violence is wrong!" Jenny retorted.  
  
"You can't judge us, so stay out of this!" Suddenly a steel pipe flew out of the crowd, slamming into Jenny's head and knocking her off balance in surprise. Before the pipe even touched the ground, the rest of the crowd rushed forward, slamming into her like a title wave and knocking her to her back on the hard concrete. he roar of the crowd came from all around her, screams of anger and revenge as feet slammed into her from every side. She felt no pain, her metal didn't even move now that she was braced against the ground, but the blows still seemed to hurt regardless.  
  
Jenny pushed herself to her feet. "Stop it... please stop, I don't want to hurt anyone!" Jenny raised her arms quickly to shield her eyes from another oncoming pipe. Suddenly, the crowd fell silent and backed away from her. The robot blinked in confusion and slowly lowered her arm. A soft gasp escaped her throat when she saw a young man lying on the ground several meters away, surrounded by the crowd, which was staring at her in shock.  
  
"N... No... I..." Jenny stumbled frantically as the police managed to get through the crowd to check on the boy. Jenny walked around frantically, but the crowd kept moving to keep their distance. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt him!" Another police officer made his way over to her with a solemn look on his face. "You've got to believe me officer, I wouldn't..."  
  
"I know." The officer smiled and put one hand on her shoulder. "We saw the whole thing, and we know you wouldn't do it on purpose." He looked around at the hateful looking crowd. "But you'd better leave, before the situation becomes even more tense. We can take it from here. Thanks for your assistance." The officer gave her a kindly smile and a polite nod before turning to check on the boy.  
  
Jenny looked around at the crowd, then extended the engines in her pigtails and took off, flying through the air as fast as she could. "What just happened down there... I've saved this city more than anyone, why did they hate me?" She sighed. So many question were popping up now... so many questions to which she had no answers. She didn't even know how to get those answers.  
  
Her chestplate opened and her image generator extended, with a rather solemn looking Mrs. Wakeman staring at her. "XJ-9, would you return home for a little while? I want to run a diagnostic to see if there are any malfunctions in your systems."  
  
Jenny sighed again. She didn't feel anything wrong with herself... aside from overwhelming confusion. Still, she wasn't one to disobey her mother. "I'll be right there..." The image generator retracted into her breastplate and she turned to head home. She landed in front of her house and walked inside. She found her creator standing in front of her laboratory door, giving her a disappointed glare.  
  
"Come inside XJ-9." The woman gestured to the back room and stepped aside. Jenny walked past her.  
  
"I didn't mean to do it..." Jenny said as she climbed onto the table obediently so her creator could strap her down.  
  
Mrs. Wakeman gave her a small comforting smile. "I know, but still it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially where you are concerned." She strapped the robot in and moved over to a small table beside her. Jenny sighed and stared at the ceiling. She thought to ask her creator about the strange incidents that day... but thought better of it. She was already under suspicion of malfunctioning, and she didn't want to add to that.  
  
Jenny looked over at her mother as she moved up to the side of her table again. "Goodnight, mother..." She said, knowing she would be shut down during the diagnostic. Mrs. Wakeman smiled one more time before reaching up and hitting Jenny's deactivation switch, sending her instantly into a sleep-like state where only her main processors received any power.  
  
Information learned that day flooded through her hard drives, being organized and categorized to make access more efficient. The rumor mill went into the school facts section, knowledge of pregnancy went into the biology section... but there was so much that couldn't be categorized. What could make Brittany let that happen if she didn't want to be pregnant? What made those people at the library so unreasonable? She couldn't ask all those people... but Brittany...  
  
SYSTEMS CHECK COMPLETE. NO MALFUNCTIONS DETECTED. Jenny snapped to consciousness as her internal systems sprang back to life automatically upon completion of the test. Mrs. Wakeman was nowhere to be seen... probably because her internal clock said it was past ten PM. She sat up on the table and looked around at the dark room around her. She wasn't malfunctioning... so it would be safe to go out.  
  
She slid off the table and headed through the house to the front door activating her pigtail jets. She took off through the night, lit up only by the moon and the sea of stars high above. They glinted off of her light blue frame, creating a silhouette of light in the darkness. Almost as if a star had left its perch to streak across the night sky.  
  
She floated up to a fairly large house on the edge of town. She floated up to one of the outside windows, putting her hand on it. Inside she could see a bed covered in luxurious deep violet quilts, surrounded by walls painted with dark green, and a deep black carpet that was woven like the top of a cloud. The robot watched as a figured walked in through the main door, yawning.  
  
Brittany was wearing a dull black nightgown that almost blended with her silky dark skin. A small bulge in her stomach was visible through the thin fabric, the evidence of her pregnancy that had been almost invisible in her normal clothing at school.  
  
Jenny reached toward the window, but hesitated for a moment. Brittany obviously didn't like her very much, so there was no reason for her to cooperate. But Jenny couldn't stand not knowing... she had to figure out what caused all of this self-destructive behavior.  
  
She rapped on the window lightly so as not to break it. Brittany whirled in surprise and frowned when she spotted the robot outside her window. She approached and pushed the window open hard enough to slam it into Jenny's chest, sending her flying back. She would have fallen if her pigtail jets weren't still activated.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Brittany demanded haughtily.  
  
"I need to know why you let yourself get injected if you didn't want a child." Jenny floated up to a window. Brittany rolled her eyes and turned away from her, walking over to the bed. Jenny floated inside and landed on the carpet, letting her pigtail jets retract.  
  
"You're just wracking your brain aren't you?" Brittany smirked and sat down on edge of the bed. "All that processing power and you can't figure out something so simple. That certainly puts a silver lining on a bad situation." She chuckled derisively, holding her head high and looking down her nose at the curious robot.  
  
"Please Brit, I can't process this information without your input. You don't like me for some reason but please... help me." Jenny moved further into the room, holding her hands in front of her in a pleading position. "Why did you do it?"  
  
"That's none of your business, quite frankly. Now kindly take your leave before I report a breaking and entering." Brittany demanded.  
  
"But there was no breaking, you opened the window..." Jenny scratched her head.  
  
"It doesn't take much to break glass." Brittany glared. "Now leave, my personal affairs are none of your concern."  
  
"I can't, I have to know." Jenny approached the bed. "Please?" Brittany rolled off the bed on the other side, glaring at her angrily. Jenny moved to go around the bed, so Brittany backed into the door.  
  
"You stay away from me!" Brittany gripped the doorknob and pushed it open, backing away into the hallway.  
  
"Hey, hold on!" Jenny followed after her quickly, rushing through the hall. Brittany stomped through the hallways, huffing the entire way with her fists clenched. "Wait, please. You don't have to hate me, I'm a good person. I would help you if you would help me!" She blinked in surprise when Brittany stomped up a flight of stairs and emerged onto the roof, underneath the night sky. "Brit? What are you doing? It's cold out there!" Jenny rushed up the stairs and ran out after her.  
  
"You get away from me, robot." Brittany stomped up to the edge of the roof and turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. Her nightgown and neck length hair blew violently in the steady winter wind and her eyes glinted with barely contained tears. Jenny narrowed her eyes. She didn't know much about pregnancy yet, but apparently it didn't do much good for a girl's mental state. "Leave right now, or else you won't find out anything from me."  
  
"Brit... step away from the ledge..." Jenny put her arms up and took a slow step forward. "We can talk about this calmly..."  
  
"Get back!" Brittany stamped one foot, but it came down on a patch of ice and slid forward from underneath her. Her expression was one of shock as the rest of her body tilted backwards, until she flew right off the edge of the roof. A high-pitched scream leapt from her throat as she plummeted toward the ground.  
  
"Hey!" Jenny charged forward and leapt off the side of the roof, her lower legs retracting into her thighs to let a pair of high-powered jets extend downward, coupled with a pair of jet wings from her mid-back. She streaked toward the ground and turned upward within a minute, grabbing Brittany in both arms and pulling up just before they hit the pavement underneath. Jenny streaked back into the sky, leaving a trail of thick white smoke behind her.  
  
Brittany opened her eyes slowly, cradled in the robot's arms like a little girl. Jenny looked down at her worriedly, letting her pigtail jets take over the burden of flight while her back and legs returned to their normal configurations. "Brit, are you okay?" The robot asked in a somewhat worried tone.  
  
Brittany stared at her blankly for a few moments before looking away from her, down at her stomach. Her eyes were shining with moisture in the moonlight shining on her face from over Jenny's shoulder. "No... I'm not..." she muttered darkly. Jenny blinked in surprise as the girl looked up at her face again with a solemn expression. "I won't be for a long time..."  
  
"What's wrong?" Jenny asked sincerely.  
  
"You want to know why people do things that will lead to disaster or make no sense?" Brittany asked in an unusually soft tone of voice for her. "It's because of passion..." She put up one hand and clenched it into a tight fist, though it was shaking violently. "It blinds us to sense... we do things that we would never dream of otherwise... mess up our lives for years to come for a night of cheap thrills..."  
  
"Passion...?" Jenny muttered softly, trying to place the word. Brittany looked up at her face again. The robot's face was silhouetted by the moon behind her, reflecting the pale light as if she were glowing with golden fire. She held the dark skinned girl in her arms, floating aimlessly through the night sky with the wind blowing through the girl's hair and thin black nightgown. "What's passion?"  
  
"It's... a knowledge... a surety... a whim... I don't even really know. I doubt if anybody does." She stared at Jenny. "It's just a feeling."  
  
Jenny closed her eyes and arched her head back, opening her eyes to stare at the starlit sky. It figured that word would come up again. It always did in these matters. She opened her eyes when she sensed something odd in her arms. A kind of vibration... Brit was shaking. Why would she be doing that? Was she crying or...?  
  
Jenny looked down in surprise to see a small white dot float past her toward the ground. She blinked and looked around... there were dots floating down all over the place. It was snowing... and she had Brit out here in a piece of cloth that offered no protection from the cold. Looking down, Jenny noticed that Brittany was shivering violently in a curled up position.  
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I'll find you someplace warm..." Jenny looked down to search out a place where they could take shelter. She quickly spotted a small hut in the center of a small pond, so she streaked down and pushed her way inside, slamming the door behind her. "Come on, don't worry. I'll get you warm." Jenny extended her arms, wrapping them around Brittany like a pair of snakes, snaking through her nightgown to thoroughly cover her skin.  
  
"Y... You're warm..." Brittany commented.  
  
"My body is designed to stay at 98 degrees. Any internal temperature changes could damage my systems." Jenny pulled Brit in close so she could wrap her arms around her as much as possible. Brittany blinked, staring at her face under half-closed eyelids. Jenny stared back, not sure what to make of her expression.  
  
"Tell me something... do you feel?" Brittany asked pointedly.  
  
Jenny stared at her, surprised both at the content and bluntness of the question. She blinked and turned her head away, half-closing her eyes. "No... I don't think I do... I'm not even really sure what it is..."  
  
Brittany pulled one of her arms out of Jenny's coiling embrace to place one palm against Jenny's check. Her hand slid across the smooth yet warm steel, turning the robot's head so that they were once again face-to-face. "Have you ever wanted to feel... passion?" She asked in a soft, sultry tone of voice. Jenny blinked slowly, staring at her with a mix of surprise and wonder.  
  
"I want to feel... everything." Jenny replied, taking a cue from her and lowering her voice to the same half-whisper. Brittany moved her face in toward Jenny's slowly, pressing her lips against the robot's and closing her eyes. Jenny closed her eyes as well, pressing her lips back against Brittany's and uncurling her arms from around the girl's body somewhat.  
  
Time faded even to the robot as the snow continued to rain down outside. The robot had no real idea what was happening, but something seemed to drive Brittany onward until her entire body began to shiver. Jenny thought she might be getting cold, but the girl didn't complain or stop for an instant. She only grew more intense. Clinging to the robot with a furious grip.  
  
Was this passion? Was this what Brittany had said caused people to do stupid things that good sense would normally not allow? Jenny still didn't understand... even when Brittany finally seemed to come down from whatever had encompassed her senses. Her arms ran across the robot's back, staring up at her eyes with a wondering expression.  
  
Jenny rolled to her back so that her weight wouldn't crush her partner when she relaxed. Brittany rolled over with her, so that her head was lying against Jenny's chest with her arms around her waist. "Do you understand now... Jenny?" Brittany asked softly. Jenny looked down at her, unsure of how to answer even this seemingly simple question.  
  
"I don't know..." Jenny replied softly.  
  
"Well no matter..." Brittany lay against her, closing her eyes and yawning tiredly. "It's a human thing I suppose..." Her eyes closed slowly. "You're probably better off without it..." Her eyes shut and her breath settled into a steady rhythm, indicating that she had fallen asleep. Jenny looked down at her, then up at the ceiling above them.  
  
"But I still want to feel it..." Jenny whispered softly. With that she settled down and closed her eyes, shutting herself down to register the information gleaned in the last hour. It was a lot to process for such a short amount of time... but the main answer still remained beyond her grasp.  
  
The rest of the night passed and Jenny reawakened at 5:15 AM. She found Brittany still asleep in her arms, as nude as she had been the day before. The robot sat up, carefully putting her arms around her partner so as not to drop her on the ground. Brittany moaned and opened her eyes halfway, looking up at her. "Good morning." Jenny said politely.  
  
Brittany looked confused for a moment, but her eyes soon softened. "Good morning..." She sat up on her own and climbed to her feet. Jenny stood up beside her, watching her slide her panties and nightgown back on. A coat of fresh snow lay on the ground outside, but the sun was shining brightly from the sky, keeping it from being too cold at the moment.  
  
"I'll take you home." Jenny offered. Brittany nodded and moved up to her. The robot picked her up like she did the night before and extended her pigtail engines, taking off through the sky as fast as they could carry her. Brittany clung to her neck to make sure she didn't fall.  
  
"Jenny... let's not tell anyone about what happened last night." Brittany suggested.  
  
"What? Why not?"  
  
"Because... it's a human thing. There are a lot of social mores I broke. And while I don't mind breaking rules, having it become public can be a stain on my image. You understand how important image is don't you?" Brittany asked.  
  
"Sure... I guess..." Jenny replied as she set down just inside Brittany's bedroom.  
  
"I knew you would." Brittany stood up and turned back to Jenny. "I'll see you around school then." She flashed the robot an unusually gentle smile before kissing her on the cheek. "Tata." She walked over to the bed and sat down, rolling into it... presumably to look like she'd been there the entire night. Jenny turned and flew out the window again, shaking her head as she went.  
  
"This is too confusing... I have to talk to someone about it... someone I can trust..." she turned in midair and made her way toward home. She stopped just short however, landing in front of the house next door and knocking loudly. "Come on Brad, open up!"  
  
Brad opened the door several minutes later rubbing his eyes and yawning. He seemed to be wearing nothing but a fuzzy blue robe over a pair of boxer shorts. "Jenny? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He yawned.  
  
"Five thirty AM." Jenny replied. "What does that have to do with anything?" Brad grumbled and waved for her to continue talking. "Well, last night... some things happened, and... someone told me about something called 'passion' that makes humans behave in strange ways."  
  
"Okay, that makes sense." Brad rubbed his head. "So you have an answer, what are you confused about?"  
  
"Well this... person... they wanted to show me passion, so they... I don't know. I think they had me try to inject into them with my hand." Jenny replied. Brad stared at her blankly, as if not comprehending for an uncomfortably long time. "Brad? Are you okay?"  
  
"Oh, just thinking. Come inside." Brad turned and walked inside, not looking at her again until after he was sitting on the couch. "So you had sex with one of the girls from school huh? Who was it?"  
  
"I promised I wouldn't tell." Jenny muttered apologetically.  
  
"Hey, understandable." Brad shrugged. "So what happened? Do you understand passion after doing that?"  
  
"That's the thing... I don't think so. I mean, she seemed to feel it somehow, but I didn't feel anything. Does passion just... make you forget about things? She has a lot of problems right now... and she seemed to forget them while we were together." Jenny sat down beside Brad, putting her hands on her knees.  
  
"Well Jenny... passion is a tricky thing. It's LOTS of things, actually." Brad rubbed the back of his neck. "It... spurs us to do things. It's motivation... to accomplish or do something that you think is worth doing. Whether it's having sex with someone at a certain time or accomplishing a lifelong goal."  
  
"But what causes it?" Jenny asked.  
  
Brad shrugged. "That's like asking the meaning of life. I know you hate it when people use this word, but it really is just a feeling." Jenny looked down at the carpet, running her hands over her eyelids uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it Jen, it's not worth getting worked up over. You don't need passion, you're perfectly fine the way you are."  
  
"Speak for yourself..." Jenny stood up and headed to the door, pushing her way outside and flying away with her pigtail engines. She was getting tired of always running into the same dead-end no matter what she did. She wanted to feel... she wanted passion. Well, either way she would likely never get her wish... so she turned to make her way to school, knowing mom would assume that she'd just left early.  
  
She landed in the schoolyard and went inside. The school was graciously empty for several hours before students started to show up for the day's classes. She passed Brittany and Tiffany, but they treated her simply like she didn't exist. Brittany gave her a sideways glance as they passed, but that was her only acknowledgement... her only personal acknowledgement anyway.  
  
She started noticing students laughing or chuckling as she passed, and casting glances her way. She was starting to think there was something wrong with her appearance when Brad finally caught up with her. "Brad, thank goodness you showed up. Everyone's staring at me strangely... just like that look you're giving me..." Jenny blinked.  
  
"There's another rumor going around Jen, I just thought you should know." Brad looked around conspiratorially. "Rumor has it the girl you were with last night was Brittany Krust." Jenny's mouth fell open in shock, staring at him with a blank gaze. "I know it can't be true, but I thought you should know." Jenny looked down at the ground, trying to think of when someone could have seen them. Of course... when they were floating through the sky... "Jenny?"  
  
"Excuse me a minute!" Jenny took off running through the hallways, ignoring the stares and snickers of the other students. She had to find Brittany and tell her that she didn't spread the rumor... she didn't want her to think she'd betrayed her trust like that. She would never tell a secret.  
  
She skidded to a stop when she saw Brittany leaning against a locker with a large boy standing in front of her, looking particularly menacing. Tiffany was standing beside her, giving the boy the look of death itself about to swoop in on a victim.  
  
"I asked you a question, is it true?" The boy demanded angrily. "Because if you are fraternizing with that freak, I wanna know about it." He slammed the palm of one hand against the locker behind Brittany, making her flinch somewhat. The boy had pale white skin and dirty blonde hair with blue eyes. His body was one a football player would envy, having muscles upon muscles on the torso.  
  
"It's none of your business, Neanderthal." Brittany sneered.  
  
"Yeah, so why don't you back off and mind your own business, Tyler?" Tiffany added with an evil growl.  
  
"Stay out of this short stuff." Tyler grabbed Tiffany's forehead and shoved it back into the locker hard enough to knock the smaller girl unconscious. She collapsed to the floor in a limp heap, for once looking weak and vulnerable as opposed to the tough front she usually put up. Jenny moved to advance on them, but a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back.  
  
"If you don't want to confirm it, you'll hang back." Brad told her warningly. Jenny stared at him, then looked back at Brittany, who was leaning against the locker and glaring at her attacker angrily.  
  
"Mind your own business." Brittany insisted again.  
  
"Everything you do is my business. This says so." Tyler put a hand on her stomach, but Brittany pushed it away.  
  
"That was nothing more than a mistake. Just like you." Brittany shot back acidly. Tyler huffed in anger and shoved her against the locker, raising one fist over his head.  
  
His fist stopped in mid thrust, unable to go farther. Tyler grunted and strained to move it, but it wouldn't budge. Looking back, he saw Jenny standing right beside him with a dark glare on her face. "What do you want? This has nothing to do with you. Unless it's true." He scowled.  
  
"Helping people IS my business!" Jenny yanked his arm behind his back and shoved him face first against one of the lockers with a loud bang. "I don't care who you beat up, or why you beat them up. If you lift a hand against anybody, I will stop you. You got that?" Jenny demanded.  
  
Tyler whimpered as she yanked his arm high enough to stretch tendons to their maximum. "Y... yes... got it... got it..." He grunted. Jenny let him drop to the floor and he scurried away on all fours, cradling his wounded arm. Jenny looked around, seeing the blank stares of the rest of the students upon her. Brittany was kneeling down beside her cousin, checking her head.  
  
"Is she okay?" Jenny walked up to them and knelt down beside her.  
  
"It's just a bump... a rather hard one, but she'll recover with an ice pack..." Brittany looked over at her, her face hidden from the others by her crouching position. "And you had to ask me what passion was?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Jenny blinked in confusion.  
  
"I've never seen anyone so passionate about anything." Brittany told her. At Jenny's blank stare, she shook her head. "Why did you feel the need to help me? Why do you feel the need to help anybody who asks you for it?"  
  
"Because... my program..." Jenny stuttered.  
  
"Your programming applies to saving the world, not saving me from an asshole." Brittany smirked. "So why do you think you wanted to help me?" Jenny stared at her, realization finally dawning on her.  
  
"Because... it felt like the right thing to do..." Jenny realized with her mouth hanging open.  
  
"Welcome to humanity." Brittany grinned mischievously. Jenny smiled back as they moved to lift Tiffany from the ground and get her to the nurses office. So that was passion... knowing what you wanted to do and never deviating from it. She couldn't feel physically passionate with Brittany... but Jenny realized she was passionate about something. She was passionate about protecting all those dear to her... which was everyone. Every person, friend or foe, near or far... she would protect them all. That was her passion... and she would always see it through.  
  
THE END 


	2. Forever Feeling

Forever Feeling  
  
The hospital lights were harsh in the early morning before the sun had even thought about rising. The hospital was mostly silent, but after six months of waiting, a very special day had finally arrived for Jenny and her new friend. For the last few months Jenny and Brittany had been almost inseparable, doing everything they possibly could as a pair. Their arrangement was mutually beneficial... Brittany had someone to lean on, and Jenny gleaned a bit more of the human experience every day. Today was the day Brit needed the robot most however, and she was running late.  
  
"Excuse me, I need to get through!" Jenny barreled through several nurses on her way down the highly waxed and polished hallways. She skidded to a screeching stop in the middle of a fork in the hallway, looking down each alternative. Making a quick mental note, she charged down the right side and soon skidded to a stop in front of a door.  
  
She pushed it open and stepped inside the small hospital recovery room. Brittany looked over at her from the bed. She was covered up to her neck, but her face looked tired and worn. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair was a wild tangle on top of her head. "Well, you showed up." She muttered.  
  
"I'm sorry, I had to stop an alien invasion of Mexico." Jenny walked up to the bed and sat in the small chair beside it. "Are you okay? You look terrible." Jenny asked worriedly. Brittany blinked, then busted up laughing. "What?" Jenny blushed.  
  
"Brutally honest aren't you?" Brittany shook her head with an amused smirk. "Well yes I'm quite tired and suffering a lingering pain, but fine. Just waiting for Tiff to get back..." She leaned back against her pillows and looked over at the door as it was pushed open. Tiffany walked into the room with a small bundle held carefully in her arms. Jenny could see a small hand the color of hot cocoa reaching out for her earrings as she moved up to the other side of the bed.  
  
"And there she is now..." Brittany smiled and reached out to take the small bundle from Tiffany, pulling it close to her chest. Tiffany smiled and leaned against the side of the bed, propping her head up on one arm as her cousin gently unwrapped the small bundle's head. Jenny leaned over to get a better look at the little figure.  
  
"Wow... it's so small and fragile..." Jenny whispered softly. Its face was pudgy and round, with skin that was much lighter than her mother's. It had Brittany's deep black eyes however, which were open and staring up at the robot as wide as they could open. One little arm had wiggled free of the blankets to reach clumsily toward her.  
  
"Yes, she is isn't she?" Brittany replied with a strange tone in her voice. She reached down with her free arm to run one finger across the baby's cheek. The little hand grabbed at the finger, but couldn't quite latch onto it. Brittany smiled and moved her finger into the small hand so the child could latch on.  
  
"What's her name?" Jenny asked.  
  
"Jennifer." Brittany replied instantly. Tiffany looked up at Jenny strangely, then back down at the baby. Jenny knew the other Krust cousin still didn't like her very much. She wasn't sure why, but the girl always seemed to get defensive when Jenny was around. She'd tried to patch things up at first, but by now she'd learned to accept it and ignore it.  
  
"Would you like to hold her, Jenny?" Brittany asked.  
  
"Me? Sure!" Jenny grinned in delight and moved her arms into the same position she'd seen Tiffany use upon entering the room. Brittany lifted the child and gently set the child in her arms, careful to keep the blankets between the child and Jenny's steel limbs. The baby stared up at her blankly, as if trying to figure out whether to scream or not.  
  
Jenny used her extending arms to move one hand around the baby to the front, one finger reaching down to gently run over the child's cheek. The baby squirmed and let out a small 'ugh' sound. "She's so cute..." Jenny smiled. Suddenly Jennifer opened her mouth and let out a broken scream, turning red-faced at an alarming rate. "Ah! I'm sorry... did I do something wrong!?"  
  
"No no, not at all." Brittany chuckled and pulled the baby away from her, leaning it against her chest. The wails faded into soft gargling noises. "Babies are just like that, they don't like anybody except mommy for a while. It's nothing personal against you." She rubbed the baby's head softly, and it stopped squirming so much, content to just lie on top of her.  
  
"Right..." Jenny muttered softly. She looked down at the child over Brittany's shoulder. The baby's fingers opened and closed spastically, like it was waving to something. Jenny reached up to wave back, but suddenly the baby balled up its fist and shook it violently. The robot leaned back again, holding her hands close to her chest.  
  
"Seein' other babies almost makes me wanna have one." Tiffany commented, reaching out to poke at the child's stomach. Jennifer warbled and looked up at her in confusion. "Then I remember all the long nights ahead of ya and pity ya instead." They both laughed lightly. Jenny sighed and sat down in her seat again, watching the others have fun with the baby.  
  
"Such a pity... this is the greatest feeling in the world..." Brittany smiled, running the tip of one finger across her daughter's cheek.  
  
This continued for several hours. Brittany and Tiffany were so engrossed in the new addition to the family that they never noticed Jenny didn't move from her chair. The baby seemed fairly happy with them right up until it fell asleep in Brittany's arms. It was so small and peaceful... and Brittany looked completely enraptured by it. What kind of... feeling... must it be?  
  
"It's almost time for school and I can't afford to miss it again. One more this week and I get the big E." Tiffany stood up straight. "I'll check back tomorrow, Brit."  
  
"See you around Tiff." Brittany watched her leave, then noticed Jenny sitting forlorn beside the bed. "Is something the matter Jenny?"  
  
"Oh... nothing..." Jenny stood up and shook her head. "I should get going for school too. I'll see you later."  
  
"Sure thing." Brittany waved as Jenny turned and left the hospital, walking along the sidewalk instead of taking flight. She'd been part of their group for the last few months... but now, once again, she was as outcast as she had been before. Even the baby had sensed it... she had no business being there with something she could never do. There was so much she could never do...  
  
She stopped and took a deep breath, looking up at the sun rising over the horizon. Why couldn't she feel them if she wanted to? All it would take is a little know-how. She knew her mother would never help her out... she wanted Jenny to remain a tool for world-protection... but Sheldon would do anything she asked him to.  
  
Her pigtail engines flared to life and she took off through the sky, heading toward the school as fast as she could. She landed just as the first groups of students began to arrive. She stood in front of the large school entrance and waited for Sheldon to arrive, carrying a couple tools and a weary smile on his face. His expression brightened when he saw her.  
  
"Hey Jenny, what are you doing?" He asked politely.  
  
"Sheldon, I need you to do something for me." Jenny pushed herself up from the wall and approached him with a cute smile on her face.   
  
"Anything, just ask." Sheldon smiled.  
  
"I need you to modify my internal systems to accept human sensory input." Jenny blinked her eyes in a cute manner. Sheldon's smile faded, replaced by an apologetic frown.  
  
"Gee Jenny, I don't think I COULD. I mean, Mrs. Wakeman built you and even SHE hasn't been able to make sensory devices that work correctly. I'm just a kid in science class." He walked inside with Jenny tailing behind him. "Maybe you should ask her."  
  
"She doesn't even WANT me to be more human. She would rather leave me like this." Jenny spat venomously. "She probably could do it if she wanted to. And you're a great scientist, I know you could do it."  
  
"I still don't know... you're talking about very intricate work. I could permanently damage your systems..." Sheldon shied away from her.  
  
"I trust you Sheldon." Jenny put one hand on his shoulder and gave him a sweet smile. "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Sheldon stared at her, his eyes watering until finally he heaved a heavy sigh and nodded in acceptance. "Great! Thank you!" Jenny grabbed him and hugged him tightly before rushing down the hall again. "I'll see you at your place after school!"  
  
"Yeah... later Jenny..." Sheldon sighed as she disappeared from view. This was great... she would be able to feel physical sensations by the end of the day thanks to Sheldon... and if all went well, she would be even more human than that. But first, she had to wait until school ended, which proved to be a monumental feat. It was all she could do not to tear out of there before the bell rang.  
  
When it finally did though she charged through the hall at top speed, beating Sheldon to his own home by a good twenty minutes. "You're finally home, so are we ready to start!?" Jenny exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Give me a minute, I have to get the gara... lab ready." Sheldon headed into his garage with Jenny following close behind him. "Are you sure about this Jenny? One wrong move on my part and it could have disastrous effects..."  
  
"Of course I'm sure." Jenny smiled at him encouragingly as she took her place on the seat in the middle of the moderately sized garage. "I trust you Sheldon." Sheldon nodded slightly and gathered up his tools, dropping them all on the small desk beside the chair on which the robot was sitting. He turned to her when he had everything gathered up.  
  
"Well... wish me luck..." Sheldon reached up and deactivated her systems, plunging her into sleep mode. Her systems began their information arrangements as she waited to be reactivated. Thoughts of Brittany and her new daughter lingered in her consciousness. She was sure why, but seeing then even in her mind sent conflicting thoughts racing through her mind. She wanted a child of her own... but there was also something else. Wait... was she feeling? Were Sheldon's adjustments taking effect?  
  
Suddenly the image in front of her began to blur like an interrupted TV signal. Her very thoughts began to scramble, making it hard even to wonder if something was going wrong. As quickly as the strange phenomena had begun, it ended, leaving her in the same state as before. The image of Brittany and Jennifer was still in her mind, as crystal clear as ever.  
  
Suddenly she found her systems powering up again and she opened her eyes. Sheldon was standing over her with a worried expression on his face. "Jenny, please tell me you're okay." He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly, trying to get a reaction. "I'm so sorry... I should never have tried to tamper with your systems..."  
  
"Sheldon?" Jenny blinked and shook her head, looking around. For some reason everything looked a little different... a little bit darker than before. "What happened to me? Everything looks dark..."  
  
"You're okay..." Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief and smiled down at her. "Your systems apparently have an emergency shutdown if anyone tries to tamper with them... I can't believe I didn't think of that. I tried to get all your systems back the way they were... but I was forced to leave a few new pieces..." He trailed off and looked around nervously.  
  
"Pieces? What pieces?" Jenny asked nervously.  
  
"Don't worry about it Jenny, they probably won't work without the micro sensors I didn't get a chance to install." Sheldon reached down and grabbed her arm to help her climb to her feet. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you wanted... I'm just glad you're okay..."  
  
"Don't worry about it Sheldon." She smiled slightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for trying. But I really should get going."  
  
"Okay... tell me if you feel anything wrong." Sheldon told her.  
  
"I will." Jenny smiled and turned to leave, waving over her shoulder. "See you later Sheldon." She took off with her pigtail engines and flew across the sky. The entire city looked different thanks to the shift in her eyesight. She had to wonder which version was the REAL one... was the city brighter or was this how it really looked?  
  
She shook her head and landed at the hospital, heading inside. She passed by the hotel staff on her way into the back to find Brittany's recovery room. She found her in short order, but Tiffany was already there. Jennifer was nowhere to be seen. "Where did Jennifer go?" Jenny asked.  
  
"The doctors wanted to make sure she's okay before we leave tonight." Brittany replied with a slight smile. "You're rather late, did you stop by somewhere after class?"  
  
"Yeah... it didn't work out though." Jenny walked up pulled up a chair to sit on.  
  
"Such a pity." Tiffany smirked and shook her head. "I think the robot's cheatin' on ya Brit."  
  
"I wouldn't." Jenny frowned.  
  
"I believe I'll stay out of this one." Brittany put her hands behind her head to watch the show. Before the others could continue however the doctor walked in with Jennifer in his arms.  
  
"Here you go, one healthy baby girl ready to go. As long as you have everything ready." The doctor told them.  
  
"Absolutely." Brittany climbed out of bed, dressed in her normal clothing Jenny now noticed, and took the baby from him gently. "Jenny, will you grab the things we'll need?" Jenny looked down and saw a bag by the foot of the bed full of diapers and pajamas. She grabbed it and followed the two cousins out of the hospital.  
  
They talked companionably on the way to Brittany's mansion, where they went inside and made their way into the small room they'd set up to be the baby's bedroom. Brittany slinked over to the bed and gently deposited the sleeping baby into it, moving back to let it sleep.  
  
"There we are... that should last about five minutes." Brittany smirked and set up a small one-way radio to listen for the baby as the trio of girls walked into another room. "If you girls don't mind, I need to go change. I've been wearing these clothes since yesterday."  
  
"No problem at all." Jenny watched Brittany leave, leaving her and Tiffany alone in the living room with the baby monitor. Jenny looked around nervously, trying to avoid the steady, peering gaze that Tiffany leveled in her direction. "So... how have you been Tiff?"  
  
"Fine." Tiffany replied in a strained voice. Suddenly a wailing noise floated over the baby monitor. "And the torment begins." The girl smirked and stood up. "Go find Brit will ya? I'm gonna go see if I can calm the kid down before she gives me a headache." She walked into the baby's bedroom again.  
  
Jenny stood up and headed into the back toward Brittany's bedroom. "Brit, are you back h..." Jenny stopped when she opened the bedroom door, staring at a bare bottomed Brittany standing in the middle of the room. "H... here... you're here..." Jenny stuttered.  
  
Brittany quirked one eyebrow, seemingly unbothered by the intrusion. "Jenny, what is your problem?" She asked. Jenny just stared at her, feeling something strange revving up in her systems.  
  
"I... don't know... um..." Jenny shook her head. "Jennifer is crying... I think she wants you..." Jenny quirked one eyebrow as well, trying to figure out why her body felt so strange. The darkness of her vision seemed to lift somewhat, making her vision brighter than before.  
  
"Um... thanks... I'll be out momentarily." Brittany replied. She stared at Jenny, who was still staring at her with a blank gaze. "Do you need anything else?" Brittany asked irritably.  
  
"No... nothing!" Jenny ducked out of the room and closed the door, leaning against the wall. "What was that... my body..." She looked down at her hand, which was vibrating somewhat. "It feels strange..." She shook her head and lowered her hand. "Did Sheldon's modification work?" With a slight smile, she turned to head for the living room.  
  
She could hear Jennifer crying from the next room, with Tiffany trying to coo her back into silence. It was probably best not to interfere anymore since they would probably be dealing with the baby for a while, so she headed outside and took flight over the city. She watched the people milling about below her going on with their lives.  
  
She looked over in surprise when she heard an explosion from a nearby building. "What the...?" She saw a small man scurry away from the burning building, carrying several large bags for such a small guy. She felt the same sensation from before lighting up her body. "Time to save the city!" She flew down toward the man and whirled vertically, landing in a crouch in front of the thief.  
  
"Hey, you're not getting away with this!" She stood up straight, holding her arms out to her sides. "Give the money back."  
  
"I dunna think so lassie." The figure grinned and several more identical figures leapt from his sides, all lining up to face the robot with vicious looks on their faces. "Ya cannot fight what ya cannot catch!" They all shouted. Jenny felt the sensation from before flooding through her body as her hands withdrew, making way for a pair of massive hammers.  
  
"Bring it on!" Jenny shouted as she lunged forward. Spectators watched the fight with gazes of shock and awe at the sheer viciousness of her strikes. The battle lasted only a matter of minutes, and by the time it was over Jenny's body was teeming with energy... this must have been what excitement felt like. The rush of combat, the thrill of victory...  
  
"I FEEL so alive!" Jenny screamed into the air victoriously. Her vision had grown even brighter than before, illuminating her surroundings in a light halo. She didn't notice the horrified spectators watching her fly away with her pigtail engines. She ripped through the sky, the adrenaline of the battle still roaring through her systems. "I've got to thank Sheldon for doing such a great job... I've never felt like this before." She looked down, seeing Brad walking up his driveway to the house.  
  
She turned down toward the ground and flipped so that she was facing him as her pigtails lowered her to the ground. She was already rushing toward him excitedly the moment she hit the ground. "Brad!"  
  
Brad stared at her in amazement. "Jenny? Is that you? You're acting... strange..." Brad took a step back when Jenny almost slammed into him, moving right up next to his face. "What's... up?"  
  
"Brad, this is the most wonderful thing... I can FEEL!" Jenny exclaimed excitedly with he rface mere inches in front of his.  
  
"Wh... what? Feel?" Brad blinked in confusion and backed away reflexively, his back slamming into the corner of the doorframe. "Jenny, how could you feel? You couldn't feel before... could you?"  
  
Jenny giggled, grinning delightfully. "Sheldon did some modifications to my systems! I can feel now! It feels so wonderful... there's like this energy that goes through me... it's so exciting!" She put her hands up and grinned, staring down at them. "I feel so alive... I've never felt this way before in my life!"  
  
"Well... congratulations Pinocchio." Brad told her with a somewhat nervous smile. Jenny quirked one eyebrow, staring at him. "Uh, sorry, long story."  
  
"I'm so excited... I can't figure out what I want to do with this feeling." Jenny jumped up and down in place, looking at Brad. "I want to do something exciting. Let's do something exciting Brad!" Jenny exclaimed.  
  
"Well, can't you feel anything other than excitement?" Brad asked curiously. Jenny blinked, staring at him.  
  
"Like what? Don't be silly, come on, I want to do something!" She grabbed his hand and ran down the street laughing. Brad yelped as he was dragged along behind her, pumping his legs just to keep from being pulled along the ground. She dragged him all the way to the park and threw him to the grass. "Let's wrestle!"  
  
"Wrestle?" Brad looked up at her warily. Her arms and legs were twitching spastically, and she had a wild-eyed expression on her face. "Um... let's not... why don't we take you home and get you some rest..." He suggested.  
  
"Come on Brad!" She grabbed him and pulled his face close to hers, still grinning. "Afraid I'll whoop you?"  
  
Brad whimpered and squeaked like a wounded puppy. "Yes..." He squeaked. Jenny blinked and threw him to the ground.  
  
"You're no fun..." She looked up when she heard a cry from across the park. She saw an older kid holding a small girl onto the ground, holding a small doll above her head teasingly. "Now that looks fun!" Jenny grinned.  
  
"What? Jenny, don't!" Brad jumped to his feet, but Jenny was already halfway across the playground. Her body flared in excitement her vision growing even brighter than before until it was an almost blinding intensity. She stopped in mid-stride with several blades already protruding from her fingers, inches from the little bully.  
  
Jenny shook her head to try to clear it, but her vision remained bright and shining. "My eyes..." She squinted against the suddenly glaring lights. This let her see a little more. The boy was running away screaming, while the little girl clutched the dropped doll, staring up at her fearfully. She looked down and saw her limbs visibly vibrating.  
  
"These feelings are... weird..." She activated her wing-like engines and took off through the sky, ignoring Brad's screams from the ground. "I need something to do... work off some energy." She turned to head back toward Brittany's house, the memory of her nude earlier in the day sending more surges through her system.  
  
She landed and went inside, finding Brittany and Tiffany in the living room, where Brittany had a bottle in Jennifer's mouth. "Welcome back, Jenny." Brittany smirked. "Decided to come back and say goodbye since you neglected to before?"  
  
"Brit... I need you alone right now." Jenny told her.  
  
Brittany lifted one eyebrow with a smirk. "Not likely at the moment. My daughter needs me." Jenny shook her head, the image of Brittany that morning stuck in her mind, driving more energy spikes through her systems.  
  
"Well I need you too!" Jenny grabbed Brittany's arm and yanked her off the couch. The girl stumbled in surprise, but Tiffany managed to lunge forward and help her keep hold of the baby. Jennifer started screaming in fear at the sudden movements.  
  
"Have you gone insane!?" Tiffany demanded angrily. "You're gonna hurt someone you half-baked robot!"  
  
Brittany stared at Jenny, shaking slightly. "Tiff, why don't you take Jennifer in the other room?"  
  
"What!? No!" Tiffany complained.  
  
"Just do it, I can handle this." Brittany retorted. Tiff looked like she wanted to complain again, but she straightened her back and gently took the baby from Brittany. Without another word she marched into the other room, trying to coo the child into silence. "Now you listen to me robot, we've had a lot of fun these last few months but if you ever put my child in danger again I will make sure you're disassembled."  
  
"Why are you being so upset? I have needs and feelings too!" Jenny replied, gripping Brittany's arm tighter. Her vision grew almost pure white, obscuring all of her vision.  
  
"Feelings? What kinds of feelings do YOU have!?" Brittany spat.  
  
"I... feel like I... need... you..." Jenny gripped Brittany in both hands, pulling at her shirt despite her blindness.  
  
"J... Jenny!? Stop it! This instant!" Brittany's voice wavered as she tried to push the robot's arms away from her. Jenny gripped at her clothing, her movements growing increasingly spastic. Her limbs barely felt like they were functioning anymore. What was happening to her? "Jenny! STOP!" Brittany screamed.  
  
"I..." Jenny gripped at Brittany as she fell to her knees, her entire frame shuddering. "Feeling... weak... feel..." The light faded from her vision, granting her full view of Brittany. She was sitting on the couch only half-dressed, holding her clothing around herself and staring at Jenny. She was shivering somewhat. "Feel..." Jenny muttered as she fell backward, hitting the ground with a heavy thump.  
  
Her body wouldn't respond to any mental commands. Her visual and auditory functions were beginning to fade as Brittany moved slowly from the couch still staring at her with those wide eyes. "Jenny... what happened to you?" Brittany's voice faded away as surely as Jenny's systems shutdown beyond the standard sleep-mode.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ "What did you-" _____________________________________________________________ "Will she b-" _________________________________________________________________ "I'm sor-" _______________________________________________________ "You'll be ok-" ________________________________________________________ "-ive me Jenny... Forgi-" ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "I miss you Jenny... please come back..." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "-it! I think her basic functions are repaired."  
  
Jenny's systems flared spastically, sending her entire body into confusions. But her eyesight flared back as well, though it was much darker than normal. Her mother, Brad, Brittany and Tiffany were all standing over her with anxious looks on their faces. Mrs. Wakeman spoke first. "XJ-9, are you fully functional?" The others clasped their hands in front of their chests.  
  
"I... am..." Jenny's eye twitched and her voice fluctuated as she spoke. "I think... I'll be okay... but I feel... strange..." Brad heaved a sigh of relief and flashed her a smile. Brittany closed her eyes and lowered her head, obscuring her face from view while Tiffany shook her head and put her hands on her hips.  
  
"You got a flare for the dramatic girl. I gotta give you that." Tiffany commented.  
  
"What... happened... to me..." Jenny asked. "I... can't feel... anymore..."  
  
Mrs. Wakeman frowned darkly and shook her head. "You never did feel XJ-9. That meddler Sheldon welded a power-amplifier to your main circuitry. Any time you were in a situation that a human would deem exciting it increased your power output. But it was unregulated, so your power output increased exponentially until it overloaded your system. We're lucky your main CPU wasn't melted." She smirked.  
  
"Sheldon... where is he...?" Jenny asked.  
  
"He ran off when he realized he was responsible for all of this." Brad shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about him Jenny. He'll be fine."  
  
Jenny blinked and tried to move, but all she got was a twitching arm. "I can't move my body..."  
  
"I can't remove the power-amplifier without the proper equipment, so until I get it you're going to have to remain incapacitated." Mrs. Wakeman said. Jenny sighed and nodded, since that was as much physical movement as she was able to accomplish at the moment.  
  
"She can stay with me for the time being." Brittany volunteered, lifted her eyes to Jenny's for the first time since her reactivation. Nobody else complained, so arrangements were made and the others left for home since it was apparently getting late in the evening. Jenny wasn't sure how long she'd been out, but apparently it was a good while.  
  
Jenny stared at Brittany as she walked into the living room after showing the others out. "What... what did I... do to you?" Jenny asked.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about it. Just a small scare. You weren't really in your right mind." Brittany shrugged it off and sat on a small chair beside the robot. "Tell me Jenny... why would you go to a computer geek to modify you? What could be worth that?" She asked.  
  
"I... wanted to feel." Jenny replied sincerely. Brittany quirked one eyebrow in a quizzical gaze. "I wanted to feel... like you. You seemed to feel so much when you were holding Jennifer... you feel so much when we make love... you feel when we meet in the school hallways..." Jenny sighed and looked up at the feeling. "I wanted to experience those feelings."  
  
Brittany looked down, clasping her hands in front of her. "I suppose I must confess to having never thought of what it would be like to live in a physical vacuum." She looked up at Jenny again. She looked over her shoulder when Jennifer started wailing from another room. She smirked and shook her head. "If I could give you these feelings I would..." She looked down and patted Jenny's hand gently. "But if it helps... you're a source of many good feelings." She smiled and turned to head into the baby's bedroom.  
  
Jenny stared up at the ceiling and plunged herself into sleep-mode. There was so much new information to process... but her mind was a clutter with new and old information thrust into a jumble. That amplifier must have really done a number on her systems; it would take her several days straight to sort it out. Well, she probably had plenty of time.  
  
Jenny awoke some time later when she heard a soft knocking noise from the front of the house. She listened as a pair of footsteps moved through the living room and the door creaked open. "What are you doing here?" Brittany's voice demanded irritably.  
  
"I... need to see Jenny..." Sheldon's squeaky voice was even more unstable than usual.  
  
"I think you've seen enough of her." Brittany scoffed.  
  
"Come on, I need to apologize." Sheldon countered desperately. "I'm the reason her life was in danger... I drove her crazy. I have to at least tell her I'm sorry."  
  
"Forget it, you're not getting in this house." Brittany replied. Jenny listened to the conversation intently, but her attention turned elsewhere when she heard a crash from somewhere in the back of the house. The two students at the front of the house obviously heard it as well. "What the devil was that?" Brittany asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know, but it came from the back somewhere..." Sheldon replied. Jenny heard Brittany gasp.  
  
"Jennifer!" Brittany's footsteps rushed into the back of the house quickly, followed by Sheldon's.  
  
"Wait, you don't know what it is!" Sheldon's voice faded as they went beyond Jenny's earshot.  
  
"Brit... Sheldon... someone activate my body so I can help!" Jenny shouted. She got no response however... her part of the house plunged once again into uncomfortable silence. "Brit! Sheldon!" Jenny called again, trying to make her body move so she could make sure they were alright. She heard a soft crash float out of the back, followed by an even softer wailing noise.  
  
Suddenly a louder crash was followed by a girl's scream. "BRIT!" Jenny screamed, trying desperately to make her body move. There just wasn't any power running through her limbs. There had to be a way to get back there and make sure they were alright... there had to be.  
  
The sound of Jennifer crying was joined by Brittany's voice yelling angrily, followed by a resounding smack sound. The baby's wail grew in pitch as Brittany's voice grew too muffled for Jenny to hear. She didn't hear Sheldon's voice anywhere back there. What was going on back there? She had to find out... wait...  
  
"The Power Amplifier!" Jenny exclaimed. It was still attached to her CPU... if she could activate it, it could give her body enough of a surge to go help. But it could also overload her systems again... and this time she might not get lucky enough to escape with her vital parts intact.  
  
A muffled scream from the back joining the baby's frightened scream was enough to settle the debate. Jenny closed her eyes, concentrating on her main processing systems. The amplifier roared to life, sending all the power it had stored up earlier rushing through her body again. She lunged from the small coffee table, her limbs twitching spastically.  
  
"I'm... coming..." Jenny stumbled toward the back of the house. "Brit! Where are you!?" She stumbled into a nearby wall, barely able to see thanks to the excess energy in her optical sensors. Her twitching legs carried her into the back slowly, but she was moving at least. "Brit... answer me! Where are you!?" Jenny shouted.  
  
"Look out!" Brittany's voice screamed just before something slammed into the back of Jenny's head. Jenny's neck twitched violently and she stumbled to her hand and knees, wounded more by her own power than the impact. She looked behind her to see Tyler staring down at her with a large grin on his face and a steel bat in his hands.  
  
"Think you can take my girl? Think you can take my DAUGHTER from me?" He swung the bat again, hitting her straight in the jaw with a sick metallic thud. Jenny flew to her back, her entire body twitching spastically and emitted electrical sparks. Jenny forced her eyes open, watching the intruder move to stand over her. "I knew you'd have a weak moment eventually."  
  
Jenny tried to sit up, but the steel bat slammed into her jaw, knocking her to her stomach on the ground. The bat proceeded to slam into the back of her head repeatedly, knocking one of her steel pigtails to the ground in front of her. Jenny pushed herself up, but a few swift bat strikes knocked her twitching body down again.  
  
"Get up Jenny..." Brittany prompted shakily. Jenny opened her eyes, staring into the bedroom the voice had come from. Brittany was huddled in one corner of the room, holding her daughter close to her bare chest. Her clothing lay on the floor in front of her in tatters. What had Tyler been doing to her...? Sheldon was lying against the wall unconscious, with a small trickle of blood running toward the ground.  
  
Jenny pushed herself up again as the bat slammed into her again and again, sending her already damage body into a convulsive fit. Even her internal systems were beginning to feel the abuse. Her eyesight returned to normal as the power began to drain and her hearing was beginning to fade as well.  
  
Jenny clenched her fists drawing all the power from the amplifier into her arms. They twitched and whirred spastically, but before they could cut out Jenny whirled with a single punch. It plunged straight through Tyler's chest, embedding into the wall behind him. His face contorted in shock as the steel bat fell from his hands, clattering on the ground.  
  
"Leave... Brit... alone..." Jenny grunted as the excess power started to overwhelm her systems. She yanked her arm out of Tyler's body, letting him slide to the ground. Her metal frame fell backwards to the ground, convulsing randomly as it had before. Brittany crawled over to her, still clutching the crying baby in one arm as she put one hand on Jenny's chest.  
  
"Jenny, stay awake this time. At least until Mrs. Wakeman comes..." Brittany told her.  
  
"I... cn't..." Jenny replied, barely able to control her own mouth enough to speak. "Cn't... fel... en... gy..." She whispered.  
  
"It doesn't matter..." Brittany smiled slightly and put a hand on Jenny's cheek. Unlike the gentle caress she used when they made love, this one was a soft stroke across her cheek. Jenny blinked slowly as tears filled the girl's eyes. "It doesn't matter what you feel physically... you do feel it all anyway."  
  
"I... fel..." Jenny stared up at her. One of her hands lifted off the ground slowly, moving through the air in a series of spastic twitches and zigzags until it touched Brittany's cheek. "Wat... d... I... fel...?"  
  
"The same thing I feel... or else you wouldn't... wouldn't do this..." Brittany covered her mouth, looking Jenny's convulsing body up and down. "Jesus Jenny... you should have stayed where you were... it wasn't worth this. I would rather let him have my body than watch you like this."  
  
"Cn't... not... pr... ect... ou..." Jenny smiled slightly, though it was probably hard to identify with how furiously her face was twitching. "I... L... ove... ou..." Her vision blinked in and out of existence, until finally her hearing systems began to follow.  
  
"Jenny? JENNY!" Brittany's scream followed her into the darkness into which she descended.  
  
_________________________________________ "I love you too..." ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
SYSTEMS CHECK... 5,847 ERRORS DETECTED. REPAIRING... FATAL EXCEPTION OCURRED, HARDWARD REALIGNMENT REQUIRED... HARDWARE REALIGNMENT COMPLETE, REPAIRING... NEURAL NETWORK RESTORED TO 25% EFFICIENCY... COMBAT SYSTEMS OFFLINE, JAPANESE/CHINESE/KOREAN/RUSSIAN/FRENCH/AFRICAN LANGUAGE DISKS OFFLINE, LIMB EXTENSIONS OFFLINE, POWER AMPLIFIER OFFLINE, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS OFFLINE. STARTING NEURAL NETWORK...  
  
Jenny opened her eyes slowly. Everything around her looked dark at first, but it brightened up considerably as she looked around the room. She saw her mother and Brittany standing over her. There were also flashing lights in the background behind them... police and ambulance light. The robot blinked and shook her head, staring up at the two women above her. "This... looks familiar..." Jenny commented wryly.  
  
"Welcome back again XJ-9." Mrs. Wakeman frowned. "What were you doing using the power amplifier like that? If it had been active one more second your hard drive could have detonated, taking half the city with it." She narrowed her eyes. "We're going to have a long talk about this young lady."  
  
"Don't blame her... it's my fault." Brittany shook her head. Jenny looked over at her. She was wearing a luxurious blue bathrobe, and had her sleeping daughter tucked safely inside her arms. "I was the one who was in trouble... she came to save me..." She looked down at the robot softly.  
  
"It doesn't matter, she has important responsibilities, like not KILLING anyone." Mrs. Wakeman stood up, glaring down at Jenny who realized she was lying on the floor. "Now I have to go sort all of this out with the police chief... hopefully I can convince them not to dismantle you." She walked toward the front where the lights were still flashing.  
  
Jenny blinked and looked up at Brittany, who stared back with a steady gaze. The robot looked around nervously. "Sheldon's going to be fine... if you were wondering." Brittany commented.  
  
"That's good to hear." Jenny replied with a soft smile. Brittany cleared her throat and looked down at Jennifer, running one hand over the baby's cheek. "Are YOU okay?" Jenny asked.  
  
"I'll be fine..." Brittany smiled down at her and shook her head. "Jenny..." She trailed off softly.  
  
"I know..." Jenny reached up with one hand to stroke Brittany's cheek. "What I am physically is just a shell... what matters is... how I feel INSIDE..." Her fingers brushed over Brittany's dark skin. "And inside... I want to be there for you... to protect you..." Brittany reached up and wiped away a tear that had formed under one eye. "I... love you..."  
  
Brittany smiled and put one hand on Jenny's hand, squeezing it in her palm. "I love you too, Jenny..." She replied softly. She looked up when Mrs. Wakeman approached again, looking less upset than she had before, but she was still quite stern.  
  
"You're getting off this time XJ-9." She said. "Just be more careful in the future... if it happens again there won't be anything I can do." She broke into a soft smile when she was finished with the lecture. "For now... let's get you back to my lab so I can work on rebuilding your damaged systems.  
  
Brittany stood up and moved aside as two burly police officers approached Jenny. They each took an arm, and struggled to haul her limp frame off the ground. Jenny let them, looking over at Brittany before they hauled her away with much groaning and straining. Things had changed again... though this time she wasn't sure if it was for the better or worse. It didn't really matter though... it was done either way. She would just have to live with it and take what life sent her way.  
  
THE END 


	3. Hero Edited

Hero  
  
Lightning was the only thing to pierce the blanket of rain that coated the city of Tremorton. It fell in droves on a black-clad group gathered around a small stone embedded into the ground, with a mound formed in front of it. One man stood at the head of the group behind the headstone, holding an umbrella over his head so the falling rain wouldn't ruin the small book from which he was reading.  
  
"All things of this Earth... must one day return to the Earth." He spoke in a firm, yet oddly comforting tone of voice. "Today... we at once mourn and celebrate the returning of Tyler Davidson. We mourn that he is beyond our reach... and we celebrate that he is in a better place now." A woman near the middle of the group burst into tears, burying her face in her handkerchief.  
  
Jenny looked down at the ground guiltily, wishing she was anywhere but there at that moment. She was wearing a black raincoat to keep the water out of her system. She was the one who'd killed Tyler... she'd put a fist through his chest... it didn't matter that it had been self-defense. She wanted to leave, but her creator standing beside her kept a firm grip on her arm. She couldn't physically stop the robot from leaving, but her influence was more than enough.  
  
"May this boy find peace in the land from which we've all grown... amen." The gathered group responded with a solemn 'amen' as the priest nodded and turned to leave. The gathered crowd began to dissipate. Jenny turned to leave, but Mrs. Wakeman held fast to her arm, moving toward the Davidsons.  
  
"No, mom, please..." Jenny muttered desperately.  
  
"You're going to confront them XJ-9. I want you to see what 'feelings' really bring." Mrs. Wakeman dragged her up to the Davidsons. Mrs. Davidson had her face buried in her husband's shoulder. He was stroking her back, with tears running freely down his own face. "Excuse me... we had to offer our condolences... after all it was XJ-9 who was responsible for this..." She said, pulling Jenny over to face them.  
  
"Thank you..." Mr. Davidson replied with a demure smile. "We know what happened... and we don't blame Jenny for it... but..." He choked up, shaking his head. Jenny looked away, trying to keep her eyes anywhere rather than meet their gaze. Mrs. Wakeman stared at her, and finally nodded.  
  
"I'll stop by later to see how I can help..." Jenny's creator patted one of Mr. Davidson's shoulders before turning to head toward her car, pulling Jenny along behind her. Jenny remained silent until they climbed in the car and Mrs. Wakeman began the short drive home.  
  
"You wanted to feel so badly XJ-9... you wanted to feel everything we feel." Mrs. Wakeman smirked. "How does it feel now? Is it everything you expected?" She asked. Jenny remained silent, letting the soft pitter-pat of raindrops on the roof fill the uncomfortable silence inside the vehicle. "I created you as a hero..."  
  
"You created me as a weapon." Jenny retorted acidly.  
  
"You're better than us XJ-9." Mrs. Wakeman insisted, turning to stare at Jenny. "And you're going to realize it." She pulled up to their house and climbed out. Jenny headed for the house door before Mrs. Wakeman could even get her car door the entire way open. "Before you try to 'improve' yourself again, remember what you saw today." Jenny stopped in mid-stride. "Learn your lesson XJ-9. You're not meant to be human... you're meant to be a protector."  
  
"My name is Jenny." Jenny replied simply before marching inside, heading upstairs and slamming her bedroom door. She marched over to the bed and sat down, gripping the sheets tightly. It had been two weeks since the incident at Brittany's house... and she hadn't been allowed to leave her house for a moment. She hadn't seen any of her friends... she hadn't even gone to school. Things were going back to how they had been before Tuck found her...  
  
"I don't want this!" She stood up and marched to the window, crossing her arms over her chest. She wanted to go to Brittany's... she wanted to be with her. Why was that so damn wrong? Was her mother afraid that she would hurt someone else...? No... she was worried she would lose her weapon... that was all she cared about. She never showed the slightest interest in what Jenny wanted...  
  
"Forget it then..." Jenny pushed the window open and activated her repaired pigtail engines, taking off through the rain and thunder toward the mansion in the middle of the city. She landed and walked up to the large double doors, already feeling the water beginning to leak through the cracks in her frame. She knocked loudly.  
  
The door opened a few moments later. Tiffany cocked her head to the side curiously. "Well... it's the recluse. What brings you out of your hole?"  
  
"I wasn't in a hole, just my house..." Jenny replied. Tiffany rolled her eyes, but Jenny decided to ignore it. "I just need a place to stay for a while... my mother wouldn't be happy to find me..." Jenny replied. Tiffany's eyes narrowed appreciatively.  
  
"You ran away from home? Damn girl, that's some guts." Tiffany stepped back to let Jenny enter. "Brit's in the living room feeding Jennifer."  
  
"Thank you." Jenny replied. Tiffany nodded and turned to head into the kitchen, so Jenny made her way into the living room. Brittany was sitting on the couch, holding the baby up to one of her breasts so it could drink to its heart's content. Jenny paused when she saw the black girl... it had been two weeks... could things have changed in such a short time? "Good afternoon... Brit..."  
  
Brittany looked up in surprise, her face lighting up when she saw the robot. "Jenny, I was beginning to think Mrs. Wakeman disassembled you!" She smiled and gestured to an empty seat on the couch. "Have a seat, Jennifer should be asleep soon. She's been awake since three this morning..." She grumbled and heaved a soft sigh.  
  
"Thanks..." Jenny walked over and sat on the couch, putting her hands in her lap nervously. "Brit... I didn't see you at Tyler's funeral..." She said. "Everyone said you should have been there... since he was your daughter's father and all." She said.  
  
"That a few specks of his genes float in my daughter's blood doesn't tie me to him at all." Brittany scowled. "And to hell with anyone who thinks it does... Ow." She winced and looked down at Jennifer, who had bitten down a little too hard on her nipple. She sighed and watched the baby feed.  
  
Tiffany walked into the living room wearing a long red raincoat. "I think I'm gonna head out for a while Brit." She said.  
  
"What? Why?" Brittany asked.  
  
"Personal stuff." Tiffany grinned and winked before turning to leave, closing the front door behind her. Brittany rolled her eyes while Jenny scratched her head in confusion.  
  
"Personal stuff?" Jenny mused.  
  
"Forget about it..." Brittany looked down, noticing that Jennifer had finally stopped suckling. "Give me a moment, and I'll go put Jennifer to bed." Jenny nodded, watching Brittany get up and head into the back toward the bedrooms.  
  
The robot blinked in surprise when her chestplate opened and the 3-D image generator emerged in front of her. Mrs. Wakeman looked positively livid with rage. "XJ-9! What do you think you're doing leaving the house without permission!? I have half a mind to remove your free-will circuitry!" She screamed. "Where are you?" The screen started to turn, but Jenny caught it.  
  
"No, mother!" Jenny pulled the screen back to face her. "I'm not coming back until you realize that I don't WANT to be a weapon! I want to live my life! And to Hell with you if you don't agree!" She gripped the screen and pushed as hard as she could, pushing it away from her until the circuits that linked it to her chest severed.  
  
The screen went dark as she yanked it right out of her chest cavity before throwing it across the room where it shattered into dozens of pieces against the wall. Jenny's chestplate closed as she leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms over her chest when Brittany entered again. This time she was alone, and wearing a shirt.  
  
"It must be rather serious this time." Brittany commented as she moved to the couch. Jenny stared at the shattered pieces of the image generator, knowing she'd just crossed a bridge she might not be able to get back over again.  
  
"She wants me to stay in my room forever, like before... but I can't go back to that after I've experienced what all there is out here." Jenny sighed.  
  
"Then don't go back." Brittany suggested. "She can't keep you there, that's slavery." She smiled slightly and put one hand on the robot's shoulder. "You're free to stay here with me if you wish. My parents don't come around much, so it will basically be just us."  
  
"Where are your parents? Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing them in all the times I've come here." Jenny asked.  
  
"Out working... paying for all of this." Brittany gestured broadly to the house around them, which was indeed rather large and well furnished. "They don't even know about Jennifer yet... God knows how they'll react when they do find out." She shook her head and sighed. Jenny looked down at the carpet, trying to imagine what it would be like to be really alone...  
  
"Whatever they say... I'll be here for you." Jenny reached over and squeezed Brittany's shoulder. The girl looked over at her and smiled, reaching over to pull her into a firm hug. "We just have to stick together. Everything will work out if we do." Jenny wrapped her arms around Brittany, leaning her cheek against hers.  
  
"Quite right." Brittany nodded and stroked Jenny's back. "They can't touch us..." She turned the robot's head with one gentle hand so she could kiss her on the lips. Jenny closed her eyes as Brittany deepened the kiss, her arms clasping tighter around the robot's torso.  
  
After six months, Jenny knew how to act. She also knew full well where all of Brittany's pleasure centers were... and in what order to stimulate them. Her hard drive stored all of the information until she needed it... and when she called it up, she could send her lover through the clouds in a matter of minutes. But she also knew Brittany liked to take her time.  
  
The two figures sat intertwined on the couch, Brittany's clothing soon finding its way to the carpet. Her dark, smooth skin shone in the lightning flashes from the storm still raging outside, pierced by her soft moans and panting as Jenny expertly ran her hands up and down her body.  
  
Their motions stopped when a small piercing wail broke through the sound of rain hitting the roof. Jenny looked over her shoulder and Brittany rolled her head back onto the couch. "Bloody blasted..." Brittany trailed off and gently pushed Jenny off of her. "Excuse me, I need to go kill myself." She stood up and headed toward the back, grabbing a robe from her room and slipping it on before entering the baby's bedroom.  
  
Jenny watched with an amused smile, sitting back on the couch. Children apparently weren't much good for relationships. Oh well... she could make sure she made it up to Brittany later on.  
  
The robot stood to head into the baby's bedroom... but stopped when she saw a red light flash through one of the front windows. She crept up to the window and cautiously pushed the curtain aside. Her eyes went wide when she saw at least a dozen police cruisers parked out front, barely visible under the heavy and oppressive rainfall. Her mother was standing in front of them all with a smug look on her face.  
  
"I don't believe it... she called the police on me!" Jenny shouted angrily. She pushed herself away from the window, fuming and clenching her fists. "That does it... I'm not going to take this lying down!"  
  
Brittany rushed out of the bedroom, holding a small bundle in her arms. "What's all that yelling about Jenny?" She asked. Before the robot could respond something broke through the window, landing on the floor with a dull thud. "Is that a... grenade!?" She'd barely finished speaking when a thick white gas began issuing forth into the room.  
  
"Cover your mouth!" Jenny lunged through the smoke to push Brittany toward the back. Brittany was too busy trying to cover her daughter's face with the thin blanket in a vain attempt to keep the smoke away from her. "Come on, away from the smoke!" Jenny pulled her toward the stairs, rushing up as fast as she could. It didn't make any sense... if they came for Jenny why would they use gas grenades? They knew she didn't breathe... were they aiming to knock out Brittany?  
  
More grenades broke through the windows in the back, blocking the bottom of the stairs with thick, voluminous smoke. Brittany stumbled back, coughing and trying to keep her daughter's face covered. Jennifer was screaming through the thin fabric, startled by the noise. A lightning flash erupted outside the window, revealing a line of officers surrounding even the back door.  
  
"That's it... enough games." Jenny raised her arm, aiming it straight at the guards outside. Her elbow split in half and a laser sight raised out of it while a barrel emerged from her palm. She took aim, but Brittany grabbed her arm and pushed it aside.  
  
"Don't, Jenny... remember what your mother said..." Brittany broke into a coughing fit. Jenny paused, looking through her memory. She soon found it... 'Just be more careful in the future... if it happens again there won't be anything I can do.' Of course... they were trying to make her fight back. If she attacked them they would have legal cause to retain her... possibly even dismantle her. It seemed unreal that her mother would plan something like that... but it was the only conclusion she could reach.  
  
Brittany heaved a heavy cough, leaning against one wall. She kept the blanket over her daughter's face to protect her, ignoring the smoke filling her own lungs. "We're getting out of here..." Jenny pointed her cannon toward the ceiling and opened fire. The emerald blue lasers cut through the entire house, punching through into the cloud-covered sky.  
  
She knelt down and lifted Brittany off the ground. The girl held the screaming baby firmly in her arms as a pair of bladelike wings spread from Jenny's shoulder blades, each tipped with an engine the size of her foot. Fire erupted from them, and she soared up through the hole in the ceiling, emerging into the storm overhead.  
  
She saw her mother watching her from the ground as the scene faded behind them, lost to the wind and rain. Jennifer's wailing was the only sound that cut through the rain aside from the occasional crack of thunder that lit up the city. They needed a place to stay... but Brad lived too close to her mother and Sheldon was still in the hospital for the concussion he'd suffered. That left only one option...  
  
They landed shortly at a nearby house, soaking wet in the middle of the rainstorm. Jenny could feel the liquid leaking into her body, making her twitch somewhat, but it wasn't bad enough to disable her. She knocked loudly, and they waited until the door was finally pulled open.  
  
"Brit? Jenny? What's goin' on?" Tiffany exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"We need a place to hide out for a while..." Brittany replied softly. Jennifer was screaming from fear and the cold, and Jenny was staring in the other direction at the sky.  
  
"Sure... come on in." Tiffany moved aside and let them walk inside. Brittany moved into the living room and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, rocking the crying baby back and forth. Jenny marched into the kitchen and pulled her belly button bolt out, letting the water in her body trickle into the sink. When all the liquid was purged she screwed the bolt back in.  
  
Tiffany approached Brittany and put a thick towel around her shoulders. She brought a smaller towel for Jennifer, so they removed the sopping wet clothes and wrapped her up in the towel. This seemed to calm her down somewhat, though she still whimpered. "What happened? What are you hiding from?" Tiffany asked.  
  
"It's a long story." Jenny walked back into the living room, carrying a warm mug of cocoa. She held it out to Brittany, who smiled and accepted it. "I'm... sorry I dragged you into this Brit. If I'd stayed home you wouldn't be a fugitive with me..." She sighed.  
  
"Hey, don't fret over it." Brittany flashed her a comforting smile. "Stuff happens." Jenny sat down on the couch beside her, with Tiffany still sitting on her other side.  
  
"By the way, Tiff... didn't you say you had something personal to do? What are you doing home so early?" Jenny asked. Tiffany blinked while Brittany burst into laughter. Jenny looked back and forth between them with a blush spreading across her cheeks. There was something she should have figured out... she hated when that happened.  
  
"I think I took care of it." Tiffany replied with an amused grin on her face. Brittany chuckled and Jenny looked over at the window. A lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the horizon outside the window for an instant. The robot blinked... there was a black shape outlined against the lightning bolt. Someone was outside the house.  
  
Jenny stood and approached the door. "Is something the matter Jenny?" Brittany asked. Jenny gestured for them to be quiet and gripped the doorknob, slowly pulling it open. The rain still fell in waves, and another lighting strike lit up the area. This time there was nothing there... could there be something wrong with her eyes?  
  
Without warning a blue cone of energy slammed into her stomach, sending her hurtling back into the living room. Brittany and Tiffany lunged out of the way right before the robot slammed into the couch, smashing it into pieces and rolling to a stop in front of the fireplace. "Jenny! Are you okay!?" Brittany shouted.  
  
"I'm fine..." Jenny pushed herself to her knees, staring at the door. A shape was clearly outlined in the door. It stepped forward into the building, finally being illuminated enough for them to see it... it was a copy of Jenny. Its body structure was the same, but its pigtails were razor sharp and extended down to its knees. It had another pair of wing-like blades sticking out the back of its waist and still another pair sticking out from its elbows, though those were aimed upward instead of down like the others. Its hair and armor pieces were painted black, and its eyes were pools of white without pupils. On its chest, in red paint, was the name 'XJ-10'.  
  
"A friend of yours?" Tiffany asked. Jenny didn't respond, staring at the copy and clenching her fists. Her mother couldn't have built it... Jenny had only left two hours ago. She wouldn't build another in the XJ series while Jenny was still there... would she?  
  
"As if I didn't have enough to deal with..." Jenny's fingers drew into her palms, letting five blades extend from the holes they normally occupied. XJ-10 raised its arms, the same blades extending from its hands. "Brit, Tiff, get out of here."  
  
"As if we have anywhere else to go." Tiffany scoffed. "You guys ran from Brit's place, and I'm guessing your mom wouldn't be too happy to see us." Jenny narrowed her eyes. She was right... so Jenny had to get rid of this robot without causing too much damage to the building.  
  
She braced herself as XJ-10 lunged forward, bringing its blades around in a pair of wide arcs. The two robots' blades met in a shower of sparks, but Jenny thrust downward, driving her opponent's blades into the ground and leaping over them with a whirling kick. Jenny landed in a crowd while XJ-10 stumbled back, yanking its blades out of the floor.  
  
Jenny retracted her finger-blades as she lunged, letting a pair of rapiers emerge from the palms of her hands. XJ-10 followed suit, blocking her thrusts with two quick outward parries. It thrust one leg forward, slamming it into Jenny's stomach hard enough to drive her into the wall beside the fireplace. Jenny pulled herself out of the indent, but XJ-10 pressed the attack, plunging both rapiers into her stomach.  
  
"Jenny!" Brittany and Tiffany shouted. Jenny looked down in surprise, then up into the cold white eyes of her opponent. The sound of approaching sirens was interrupted by another lightning strike, making the robot's entire frame flash with white light.  
  
"Let go of me..." Jenny grabbed the blades and twisted her arms, snapping them in half before back fisting XJ-10 across the face. The other robot fell to the ground, suddenly flashing red and blue from the police lights flooding into the room from outside.  
  
"Our informant was right, XJ-9 has to be inside!" A rough man's voice shouted from outside.  
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Jenny exclaimed. Brittany and Tiffany nodded wordlessly, but all Jennifer did was coo, having yelled herself to sleep long ago. The sound of footsteps approaching the door prompted all three of them to rush upstairs before they were discovered. On the second floor Jenny grabbed both of the girls, running for the far window.  
  
Two sets of steel wings opened from her back like a butterfly before she broke through the window, sailing into the dark rainfall outside. Her legs retracted into her torso, replaced by a massive engine that propelled them away from the scene.  
  
"My house!" Tiffany screamed. Jenny and Brittany looked back to see the entire building surging with electrical energy. The following explosion was powerful enough to knock Jenny off balance and send a fireball high into the sky. The rain quickly began to douse the flames, but the house no longer even remotely resembled what it had been before.  
  
"We've got to get out of this rain..." Jenny turned and flew off again, ignoring the lightning strikes that rained down around them. She found her way to a small shack on the edge of town that Brad had showed her a long time ago. He liked to come here to get away from the world every now and again... well that was exactly what Jenny wanted right now.  
  
She landed inside and resumed her body's normal shape, setting the girls on the small couch in the middle of the room. Brittany looked around curiously. "This is an odd little place."  
  
"Nobody should look for us here..." Jenny stood up, muttering to herself. "As long as Brad doesn't lead them here..."  
  
"So what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Tiffany demanded. "We can sit here as long as we want, but it won't solve a damn thing."  
  
"Tiff, we're wet, we're cold, and we're all tired. We need to rest before we can do anything." Brittany said. Jenny looked back at her and smiled, giving her a slight nod. She was a robot and didn't need to rest... but there were more kinds of exhaustion than just physical. "All I want to know is how Mrs. Wakeman knew where to find us..."  
  
"I don't think she built it or sent the cops there." Jenny stared out the window as the storm, which was slowly letting up at last. "She doesn't put the production numbers on her robots, and it seemed too... imperfect. Like it was a mindless drone."  
  
"That only raises more questions." Tiffany grumbled. "My head's going to be as fried as my butt when my parents find out I torched the house while they were gone."   
  
Jenny looked over at her curiously. "Your parents are gone too?"  
  
"Work. It's not easy living that comfortably." Tiffany replied.  
  
"I think it would be best if we all got some rest for the night." Brittany stood up from the couch, holding Jennifer close to her chest. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to turn in." She turned to head into the back, walking in the one bedroom of the place without batting an eyelash. Jenny and Tiffany exchanged a steady gaze, as if challenging each other over the right to the other half of the queen sized bed inside.  
  
"Go ahead... I wouldn't feel the comfort anyway." Jenny ended the standoff and sat down on the couch, leaning back. She reached down and offhandedly pulled XJ-10's rapiers out of her stomach, dropping them on the floor. They had pierced through her casing, but missed her internal circuitry. If they hadn't missed she would have instantly deactivated.  
  
"Good... 'cuz you know you owe me for dragging me into this." Tiffany got up and walked into the bedroom, leaving Jenny alone. That morning she had been alone but comfortable... one long day later and she was on the run from the police, her own mother, and that new robot. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and plunged into sleep-mode to wait for the following day.  
  
Her systems powered up to find Tiffany already awake early in the morning, a little before the sun had even begun to rise. The rain had let up during the night, leaving the land outside damp but blissfully devoid of lightning or wind. The TV in front of them was powered by a car battery Tuck had set up for that purpose, and was currently tuned to the news.  
  
"You're awake awfully early." Jenny mused. "Bed not comfortable enough for you?"  
  
"Who could sleep?" Tiffany grumbled. "I kept thinking I saw lights outside." She shook her head and looked over at Jenny. "I don't know why me and Brit are even here. They're after you, not us."  
  
"They almost gassed both Brit and Jennifer to get me in trouble." Jenny replied. "You're not safe with them, not until we find a way to diffuse the situation. None of my friends are..." They both fell silent as the news anchor on TV droned on with the morning's happenings. None of her friends... what if they did something to Brad or Tuck? No... they couldn't know Jenny was friends with them. Sure her mom knew but she wouldn't turn them in... would she?  
  
"In a startling twist in our usual reports involving super powerful robot XJ-9, it appears that the robot has turned renegade." As she anchor spoke a picture of Jenny in full battle formation appeared in the corner of the screen. "She disappeared late last night, kidnapping two of her classmates, Brittany Krust and Tiffany Krust."  
  
"Kidnapping!?" Jenny exclaimed. Tiffany shushed her quickly.  
  
"Four police officers have already been killed by this renegade, so remember, if you see her report it to the proper authorities immediately. She is to be considered heavily armed and very dangerous."  
  
"I didn't hurt anyone!" Jenny jumped to her feet. "It must have been XJ-10... IT killed those people before it torched the place!"  
  
"Sit down before you wake up the baby." Tiffany grabbed her arm and pulled her back down on the couch, staring at the TV.  
  
"Several students who have had contact with the robot have already been brought in for questioning early this morning." The TV screen switched from the reporter to a view of two figures being led into the prison. They weren't handcuffed or anything, but the smaller one looked a little freaked while the older one tried to play it cool. Their faces were hard to make out because it was still raining on the tape, but the red hair was a dead giveaway.  
  
"They arrested Brad and Tuck..." Jenny growled, clenching her fists. "Why that's the most low-down dirty... I'm going to get them!" Jenny turned to the door and stomped forward.  
  
"Do it and they'll have you where they want you." Tiffany stopped her with a knowledgeable tone. "We gotta play it cool, something they wouldn't be looking for." Tiffany and Jenny looked back toward the bedroom door as Brittany pushed her way out, yawning and holding Jennifer up to one breast with part of her shirt pushed down. She stopped when she realized they were both staring at her.  
  
"What? She's hungry." Brittany complained.  
  
"The least likely conspirator in the world... a young mother." Tiffany grinned. Plans were made and time passed, until the sun found its way to the top of the gray, but relatively dry sky. The afternoon found Jenny and Tiffany perched on top of the small bank that across the street from the Tremorton Police Station. Brittany was walking toward it with Jennifer held firmly in her arms.  
  
"Are we sure about this? They could be looking for you and Brit too." Jenny mused worriedly.  
  
"But they didn't say anything about Jennifer. As far as the public knows, me and Brit are the only ones missing. They won't be looking for a girl with a daughter... I hope." Tiffany replied. It seemed odd to Jenny that Jennifer's disappearance would go unreported by the police... normally children going missing were the first things mentioned...  
  
Jenny reached down and opened the hole in her palm, where she'd stuck a small walkey talkey. "Brit, I have a bad feeling about this... maybe you should get out of there."  
  
"But I'm already in the prison cell area..." Brittany replied softly. The walkey talkey was hidden in Jennifer's blankets, so the sound was muffled, but Jenny could pick out her words as clear as day. "Give me a few minutes, I can at least make sure your friends aren't hurt." The walkey talkey fell silent and Jenny sat silently, waiting for another transmission.  
  
"Come on girl, it doesn't take this long to check on someone." Tiffany grumbled.  
  
"Something's wrong... I know it is..." Jenny activated the walkey talkey again. "Brit, get out of there now... they wouldn't hurt Brad and Tuck, it would be too embarrassing for them." Jenny released the frequency. The radio remained silent however. "Brit, talk to me."  
  
A hauntingly hollow voice came back over the walkey talkey. "XJ-9, I know where you are. I know what you've done. I will find you." Jenny stared at her palm, her eyes going wide.  
  
"H... hey... who is this!?" Jenny exclaimed. Tiffany stood up, clenching her fists. "If you want me come get me, just leave Brit alone!"  
  
"Your time will come soon." The voice replied simply.  
  
"Hey!" Jenny punched her palm, but no matter what she did static was the only response she got. "Brit... they caught her... they were ready for her..." She collapsed to her knees, staring at the small hole in her hand. "Nobody knew about Jennifer except us and the doctors who delivered her... how could they have been looking for a girl with a daughter?"  
  
"Well this is just fantastic." Tiffany growled. "They actually locked her up... with her daughter! I swear if they try to take Jennifer from her I'll rip their lungs out!" She panted, squeezing he air in front of her like she had hold of XJ-10's throat. "And now everyone who might help us is in prison!"  
  
"Maybe not..." Jenny looked to the side, spotting the top floor of the Tremorton Hospital halfway across the city. "If Sheldon's awake he could help us. They wouldn't think to look out for him, and he's good with robots. He could help us figure out what to do about XJ-10."  
  
"Sounds about as good as any plan at this point." Tiffany grumped. So Jenny lifted her and dove into the alleys between the buildings, activating her pigtail engines to fly between them out of sight of everyone else. They reached the hospital soon and Jenny landed in an alley across the street. "I'm gonna go find out what room he's in, then you go find him."  
  
"Right." Jenny nodded. Tiffany straightened her clothing and marched toward the hospital, going inside like she owned the place.   
  
Jenny waited patiently in the alley, and was rewarded when Tiffany returned thirty minutes later. "Well... this may sound weird but... he's not here."  
  
"What do you mean not here?" Jenny asked confusedly. "Are you telling me he got out and never came to see me? That's not like him at all."  
  
"It gets worse. He got out two days after he was checked in." Tiffany added. "The doctors weren't sure he was fit to leave, but they couldn't hold him there against his will."  
  
"So Sheldon's missing?" Jenny rubbed her head, which probably would have ached if she could feel pain. "Why does everything bad have to happen at once!?" She yelled in frustration.  
  
"All this stuff might be related..." Tiffany replied. "But I'm not sure how. A psychotic geek, an overbearing mother, an informant, and a mysterious robot. It doesn't go together." She looked at Jenny with a discouraged expression on her face. "What are we supposed to do now, exactly? You could try to break Brit out of jail... but they're probably ready for you."  
  
"I'm not breaking anything..." Jenny grumbled. "XJ-10 is obviously taking orders from someone, and those orders are to get me." She stroked her chin, narrowing her eyes. "I could lure out the police and XJ-10 to find its creator and prove that it wasn't me who killed those cops... and XJ-10's controller would probably be the informant."  
  
"Sounds like a plan, but one problem... XJ-10 alone is as strong as you. Add in the whole Tremorton Police Department and you'd get your butt handed to you." Tiffany pointed out.  
  
"Not if I'm right about how XJ-10 is programmed..." Jenny stood up. "You should find someplace to hide, Tiff... if I'm wrong you can at least find a way to escape the city."  
  
"And go where? If I leave I got nothing, even my parents couldn't find me." Tiffany stood up beside her. "Besides, I don't quit on my cousin. I'm not resting until Brit is free." Jenny opened her mouth to complain again, but Tiffany slapped one hand over her mouth. "Just shut up and live with it."  
  
"Fine... come on, we have to get going." Jenny grabbed her and took off through the sky again, making for the football stadium in the middle of town. She landed on the lip of the bowl, setting Tiffany beside the one-eighth-scale replica of the Statue of Liberty.   
  
Jenny reconfigured her left arm, pulling a small shell out of her leg with the other. She popped the shell into her newly formed cannon and raised it to the air, firing the shell at the clouds. It streaked high into the sky before detonating with a concussive blast, sending fire hurtling outward and toward the ground. The flames dissipated however before they touched the ground.  
  
"That should get their attention. Now you wait here Tiff." Jenny activated her pigtail engines and flew up to the statues torch, sitting comfortably on the tip of the flame with her legs hanging down. The sun was surrounded by a dull gray sky, darkened by more approaching rain clouds. Barely thirty minutes had passed before flashing lights and sirens began to approach the stadium. Jenny looked down from her high perch to watch the police officers swarm around the building. "All I need now is XJ-10..." She looked around, but didn't see the other robot anywhere. Maybe its creator didn't see the explosion?  
  
Her eyebrow quirked when she saw her mother enter the stadium alone. There were a handful of guards waiting at the entrance, but the vast majority of them were still outside. Mrs. Wakeman moved to the center of the field and looked around... probably looking for Jenny.  
  
Jenny leapt off the torch and fell toward the ground, activating her pigtail engines at the last minute to soften her landing. Mrs. Wakeman whirled in surprise as Jenny stood up straight, facing her squarely.  
  
"Come with me XJ-9..." Her creator began.  
  
"I don't think so! I don't trust you!" Jenny smirked. "You arrested Brad and Tuck! And you detained Brit even though she had a kid! How sick is that!?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Wakeman scratched her head. "Brad and Tuck were brought in for questioning, not arrested. And we didn't detain anyone... YOU broke into the police station and took someone who was visiting at the time. Don't you even remember?" Jenny's eyes widened, then narrowed darkly. She looked around, noticing the police officers slowly moving to surround her.  
  
"It wasn't me, mother... please don't make me fight anyone." Jenny kept her body as straight as possible. Mrs. Wakeman shook her head and looked down. Her eyes widened when she saw the small holes in Jenny's stomach.  
  
"XJ-9... you're damaged. Who could damage you?" Mrs. Wakeman asked.  
  
Jenny's gaze stopped on a figure that was now standing on the other side of the stadium lip. Mrs. Wakeman followed her gaze to the shadowy figure, who had his arms crossed over his chest. "That's not the question... the important thing is, who did YOU damage?" A familiar, high-pitched voice shouted.  
  
"Sheldon!?" Jenny exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here!? What's going on?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Sheldon made a beckoning hand gesture and XJ-10 floated up over the edge of the stadium, holding a bound and gagged Brittany in its arms. "Don't you know the results of the pain YOU caused!?" XJ-10 landed beside him, dropping the black girl to the ground. Brittany huffed in pain from the impact, curling into a ball.  
  
"Another robot... that's what committed those other crimes..." Mrs. Wakeman muttered softly to herself.  
  
"What are you going to do to her? And what did you do to Jennifer?" Jenny demanded. Sheldon didn't seem to hear her though.  
  
"Ever since you came to school, I've done nothing but give my heart to you. Time and again I offered it to you, I helped you, and I did everything I could. But when it came time for you to make a choice... to help me... you abandoned me for HER!" He jerked his finger down to the limp form at his feet. "One of the most stuck up students in school. XJ-10... she'll never abandon me..."  
  
Jenny stepped forward, clenching her fists tightly. "You built that thing because I wouldn't go out with you? Because you got a bump on the head? Well here I am... come and get me!"  
  
"XJ-10, take her out!" Sheldon yelled. The second shadow leapt off the wall, the blades on her elbows extending outward. Jenny leapt back to avoid the slash, whirling again quickly to avoid the follow up kick. The police officers lunged to get out of the way as Jenny lurched back again, a pair of blades extending from each wrist.  
  
XJ-10 and Jenny clashed again, their blades colliding amid a shower of sharks. Jenny thrust the blades back, slashing her opponent across the chest with all four blades. She was caught off guard when XJ-10 whirled, slashing her across the chest with one of the wing like waist blades. Jenny stumbled back, holding her chest.  
  
XJ-10 lunged again, the blades on its elbows coming at Jenny in a wide arc. Jenny blocked them with her own blades as before, pushing the blades down and kicking XJ-10 in the face.  
  
Jenny leapt forward as her opponent stumbled back, but to her surprise the robot suddenly lunged forward... going right underneath her with a powerful punch. Jenny landed and lashed backward with one foot, kicking XJ-10 in the back and sending it to its knees.  
  
Jenny rushed to take advantage of the situation, but XJ-10 whirled to its back and lashed upward with a long blade extending from its palm. The blade pierced the center of XJ-9's stomach, plunging through several important pieces of hardware.  
  
"Ugh..." Jenny grabbed the blade and snapped it off again with one arm while the other arm grabbed XJ-10 and hurled it across the stadium. It whirled in midair and landed on its feet off-balance, falling to the grass. Jenny hunched over, pulling the broken blade out of her stomach. Something was strange about XJ-10... it wasn't adapting...  
  
Of course! XJ-10 was a physical copy of Jenny, but Sheldon wasn't good enough to create an artificial consciousness. All of its moves were pre-programmed based on the circumstances it found itself in. All Jenny had to do was create a circumstance Sheldon couldn't have foreseen, and XJ-10 would be completely powerless against her.  
  
Jenny reached into the wound in her stomach, pulling a pair of wires out. Her body twitched with weakness and the surrounding observers gasped in surprise. Jenny wrapped the wires around the bottom of her right arms' wrist blades. This sent a constant surge of electricity through them... electricity that would give XJ-10 a nice surprise. Jenny herself was protected by a series of buffers she was sure Sheldon wouldn't have thought to install.  
  
Jenny watched XJ-10 climb to its feet, another pair of blades extending from its arms. Jenny held up one hand and beckoned it forward, keeping the electrified blades behind her back. XJ-10 rushed at her, bringing the long blade around in a wide arc.  
  
Jenny thrust the electrified blades forward to block. When the blades touched, a jolt ran through XJ-10's blade, straight into its main circuitry. Jenny pressed the attack, the electrified blades colliding with XJ-10's blade every few seconds. The almost constant stream of electricity was quickly eroding her opponent's circuits. XJ-10 twitched and stumbled back, letting Jenny leap forward and plunge the blades into its chest.  
  
XJ-10 twitched spastically, but despite that its knee length pigtails slowly turned upward. Jenny looked up in surprise as electrical energy ran between them, building up steam like a bomb ready to go off. A suicide attack... given Sheldon's state of mind, she should have seen that coming.  
  
She yanked her blade out and turned to the others. "Get out of here now!" She shouted. The police officers rushed to leave, but Mrs. Wakeman stayed on the other side of the field, watching her steadily. Jenny shook her head and ran to get her as XJ-10 began to surge with power, the hum of electricity filling the air around it.  
  
Without warning a crack of thunder exploded across the sky, and a pearl white streak cut the air. It cut through XJ-10 like a knife on its way to the ground. The energy that had been built was dissipated instantly, and the robot slowly collapsed to its back. Jenny looked back, a slight smirk on her face. Of course, electrical conductors attracted lightning... and those were some powerful conductors Sheldon built.  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Sheldon screamed. Jenny and Mrs. Wakeman whirled to see Sheldon holding Brittany over the edge of the bowl. It was a long way down the other side, and Jenny wasn't sure she could get there in time. "She's the reason you abandoned me anyway... if she suffers, then you'll suffer!"  
  
"You hurt her or Jennifer and I swear I'll kill you Sheldon!" Jenny shouted back. Mrs. Wakeman gave her a sidelong glance, but Jenny wasn't about to apologize or relent.  
  
"You already killed me inside..." Sheldon pushed Brittany over the edge and Jenny took off flying as fast as she could. She didn't have to rush though, because Tiffany lurched out from one of the ladders that led up to the top and grabbed the rope around Brittany's torso before she could fall. "Hey, let go of her!" Sheldon stomped on her spine, drawing out a sharp cry of pain.  
  
"SHELDON!" Jenny streaked down and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, hauling him high into the air. Sheldon screamed in surprise and fear, but Jenny only went higher. "Tell me what you did with Brit's daughter! Where is she!?"  
  
"What, do you think I'd hurt a baby? I left her at my mom's house..." Sheldon replied. "Come on Jenny, let me go!"  
  
"Suits me fine." Jenny stopped her ascent, letting her fingers begin to loosen. Sheldon looked down, realizing they were still hovering higher than the tallest buildings in Tremorton.  
  
"No! Don't let me go!" He clutched at her arm. "Don't let me go Jenny!" He squeezed his eyes shut, bursting into tears and sobbing. "I'm begging you... don't kill me..." He sobbed. Jenny stared at him steadily. Killing was what had caused all of this... she'd lost her temper because someone had attacked Brittany. Was she going to make the same mistake twice? Was the going to become what her creator thought she was? A killer?  
  
Jenny began their descent, tightening her grip on his shirt again. When they reached the ground Jenny pushed her former friend to the ground, staring down at him. "Don't come near me or Brit again..."  
  
Sheldon nodded furiously as several police officers surrounded him to take him away. Jenny looked up to find Brittany and Tiffany sitting on top of the stadium lip together, both unharmed. The robot sighed and looked down, watching her creator approach calmly.  
  
"Now do you understand why it's best for you to be removed from the rest of society? Your power makes you dangerous when bad things happen." Mrs. Wakeman said. "You must remain calm at all times... and that's impossible in these conditions."  
  
"No, mother..." Jenny shook her head, surveying the commotion around her. "I still want to be a part of society... but I do need your help with something." Jenny looked over at her creator, who was staring back curiously. "Help me learn how to control my emotions..." Mrs. Wakeman smiled slightly and nodded.  
  
"That sounds like a reasonable compromise." She put one hand on Jenny's shoulder gently. She turned to leave, but Jenny called after her.  
  
"One more thing." Jenny said. Mrs. Wakeman turned around again. "Were they really trying to gas a two-week old baby at Brit's place the other night?"  
  
Mrs. Wakeman shook her head. "Of course not... we knew you would get them out of the building... or attack us. It was a test, to see how much you were malfunctioning. And you passed with flying colors." She waved and gave her a half smile before turning to leave the stadium. Jenny sighed and looked up at the Krust cousins on the side of the stadium.  
  
She activated her pigtail engines and floated up to them, landing in front of them. A steady wind was blowing as the rain storm from the night before began to pick up steam again. "Brit..." Jenny began. She didn't have time to continue before Brittany got up and flung her arms around the robot, burying her face in her neck.  
  
"Thank you Jenny... that robot jumped me in the prison... I didn't even have a chance to get away. But Jennifer..." Brittany's voice cracked.  
  
"She's fine... Sheldon says she's at his place. I'm going to go get her now." Jenny replied. Brittany heaved a huge sigh of relief, though she was still shaking from worry. "You both can come with me if you want." Brittany nodded and climbed into her arms, but Tiffany shook her head.  
  
"I have to find a new place to stay until they can rebuild my house." Tiffany explained. Jenny nodded and took off across the dull gray sky. It was a dark day, but to Jenny it seemed darker than just her eyes perceived.  
  
They landed in front of Sheldon's house and knocked. An older woman opened the door, holding a baby in her arms. She looked frightened, looking over them and clutching the baby to her chest. "Wh... who are you?" She asked.  
  
"Jennifer!" Brittany lunged and grabbed the baby before the older woman could react, clutching it to her chest. "Oh God I'm so glad you're okay..." Jennifer cooed happily for a change, waving her little arms around.  
  
"Head down to the police station, ma'am..." Jenny told the confused looking woman. "They can explain everything there." The woman nodded and rushed down the sidewalk, still looking frightened. Sheldon must have given her quite a shock with his diabolical plans.  
  
"Let's go home Jenny..." Brittany moved closer to her. Jenny looked down and put a hand on her chest, keeping her away. "Jenny? What's going on?"  
  
"I can't be your girlfriend anymore... Brit." Jenny said.  
  
"Why not?" Brittany cocked her head to the side, her eyes brimming with tears. Whether they were from this new revelation or from finding Jennifer alive Jenny wasn't sure, but the effect was the same.  
  
"I'm... dangerous right now." Jenny replied. "My mom was right about that... if my emotions get away from me I could seriously hurt someone. That's what this was all about. I have to learn to control my feelings... until then I can't let myself feel anything too intense... like love."  
  
"How long will it be?" Brittany asked softly.  
  
"I don't know..." Jenny raised one hand and ran it over Brittany's cheek, giving her a gentle smile.  
  
"Well we'll be waiting." Brittany smiled slightly, looking down at Jennifer in her arms. Jenny smiled and nodded back wordlessly as her pigtail engines activated. She took off into the sky, flying through the air. She had no idea how long it would be before she could trust herself to love again. It could be days... weeks... or even decades. She didn't expect Brittany to wait that long, no matter she said...  
  
With a soft sigh she turned to head back home, for once looking forward to the peaceful solitude of her bedroom. Still despite how terrible the last two days had been... it would probably turn out for the best. But whatever happened, she wouldn't give up to responsibilities as a hero. Because that's what she was. Even if her mom made her as a weapon... Jenny decided what she would be. Maybe in the future she would be more, but for now, being a hero was enough.  
  
THE END 


End file.
